MUST LISTEN: Peter Hain, all-star panel chart way forward for SA post-Zexit

JOHANNESBURG — Just an hour after Cyril Ramaphosa was sworn in as South Africa's new President, I was fortunate enough to attend a special panel discussion on 'Money Laundering and State Capture', hosted by the Wits Business School in Johannesburg on Thursday night. The panel discussion was led by Lord Peter Hain and included star-studded attendees ranging from Business Leadership CEO Bonang Mohale to ANC stalwart and Corruption Watch Chair Mavuso Msimang. All panellists were excellent, but one stood out: Treasury's Deputy Director-General Ismail Momoniat. Ismail is proof that quality public servants still exist in Treasury and government despite the dire Zuma years. His thoughts were rational, clear and inspiring. At the end of the event, he even refused a small gift from Wits Business School, highlighting his integrity. (I'm sure the gift from Wits was more of a thank you gesture and innocent, but the kind refusal from Momoniat was highly symbolic.) As my editor Alec Hogg now says: "Hope has sprung." - Gareth van Zyl