The year started well enough. Hope soared after Cyril Ramaphosa’s election as the new leader of the African National Congress, which resulted in Jacob Zuma’s long-overdue resignation. Those expectations were soon proved unrealistic, however. As 2018 unfolded, it became clear that the damage inflicted by years of maladministration and corruption could not be repaired overnight. That’s not to say no progress has been achieved, but it came in increments, not in leaps and bounds. Hopefully, the momentum will be maintained in 2019 and then the election will offer further impetus rather than new obstacles.