Rhodes University vice-chancellor Sizwe Mabizela has laid into those at the top of South Africa's political elite, saying people "of questionable moral and ethical character" are running the country. "The noble qualities and values of personal integrity, honesty, humility, compassion, respect for each other, fairness, forgiveness, empathy, selfless dedication and willingness to put others first - that were so beautifully exemplified by President Nelson Mandela - have given way to venality, a complete lack of integrity, moral decadence, profligacy, rampant corruption, deceit, and duplicity."Speaking yesterday at the opening ceremony of the Rhodes University graduation weekend, Mabizela said South Africa had lost its moral compass by voting in "people who have no sense of right and wrong, just and unjust, fair and unfair, ethical and unethical" to positions of power."We have become a society in which obscene and unbridled opulence exists alongside debilitating poverty and deprivation; a society that relentlessly promotes a culture of untrammelled greed and conspicuous consumption above the public and common good; a culture that judges one's worth by the amount of personal wealth amassed."He said South Africa had become a society in which far too many people were mired in a desperate daily routine of survival, while at the same time crass materialism, and vulgar and ostentatious displays of personal wealth, had become fashion statements for the political elite.Referring to the disarray in key government institutions such as the criminal justice system - which has recently lost or suspended several top officials - Mabizela urged the 2015 Rhodes graduates to make a difference in a society characterised by uncertainty, cynicism and despair."My appeal is that you become an active, engaged and concerned citizen who takes a special interest in, and concern for, those who are living in the social and economic margins of our society. We cannot fail them; we dare not fail them!"Mabizela joins several other top South Africans who have spoken out about the moral and ethical status of the country and its leadership. In 2012 former Unisa vice-chancellor Barney Pityana said, among other things: ''We must blame nobody but ourselves for the tragedy of our education system, a collapsing healthcare system, a bloated but inefficient civil service, pervasive crime and corruption that has become endemic.''That is because we have elected a government without any intelligence collectively to understand what must be done ... We have a government trapped in ideological blinkers that believes and behaves like it is unaccountable.''Also in 2012, Nedbank chairman Reuel Khoza faced harsh criticism after writing in the bank's annual report that ''our political leadership's moral quotient is degenerating and we are fast losing the checks and balances that are necessary to prevent a recurrence of the past ...''In November, top businessman Johann Rupert told the Remgro AGM: "The leadership of this country, quite frankly, is becoming very, very hard to defend abroad."The people who are running the country now were not given proper education. Wherever you look we have got stagnation and really worrying signs,'' said Rupert.In connection with the Rhodes statue debate, Mabizela said: "We must respect each other's views. We should never try to delegitimise or be dismissive of each other's views and experiences."He said people should be open-minded and willing to be persuaded to change their position on an issue, based on the quality of the argument advanced.According to Mabizela, South Africans were still struggling to find a common set of values and had yet to forge a shared sense of national identity."The maturity of our 21-year- old democracy will be tested as we engage, debate and discuss our painful, complex and uncomfortable past."..