No, Zuma has not found his moral conscience

Something unusual happened at the weekend. An ANC government minister resigned in disgrace. As if that wasn't weird enough, the miscreant apologised.

Just as we thought we felt a breeze of change in our political circus, a new dawn of accountability and responsibility, we learnt that, actually, he didn't jump, he was pushed. Still, the ANC doesn't often feel compromised enough to give one of their own the boot, so there was an element of surprise.

But the booter was President Jacob Zuma, who has never cared a jot for public opinion, or indeed the good of the country.

This out-of-character act by Zuma clearly showed he is feeling the heat as anger over his misrule rains down. Ditching deputy minister of higher education and woman-beater Mduduzi Manana is, we suspect, meant to relieve pressure on his calamitous government.

So, why not give the elbow to other ministers, equally compromised and potentially criminally liable? It might change the game.

The truth is, Manana's unsavoury crime wasn't tied to the great state capture gambit. Fallout from it won't open cans of worms.

Zuma hasn't found a moral conscience.

Consider Minister of Public Service and Administration Faith Muthambi, who wrecked the SABC, squandered public money, spoke vast amounts of garbage and took 30 family and friends on holiday at taxpayers' expense.

What about Mining Minister Mosebenzi Zwane, a Gupta lackey, whose irresponsible mining charter wiped R53-billion off the JSE's market cap and destroyed thousands of jobs?

And Bathabile Dlamini? She, whose dereliction of duty endangered the lives of 17million poor folk, and who proudly declares all members of Zuma's cabinet have "smallanyana skeletons" in their closets.

Axing that lot would take away a fair bit of Zuma's bother, if not all. But he can't do it. He is beholden; he isn't his own man.