South Africa is going through a dangerous period, with recent political developments bringing into sharp focus the urgent need to reverse this country’s decline.

At no time since the transition to democracy in 1994 have governance, confidence, justice, peace and stability been at such a low ebb.

“South Africa is being divided into three groups – an elite who benefit from patronage and corruption; those too fearful to do anything about it; and millions who will suffer as a result” is how Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) summed up the worrying state of affairs.

To repay the huge debt we all owe to those who saved this country from the horrors of civil war in the late eighties and early nineties, it behoves South Africans in BLSA’s second and third categories to go all out to elevate this country from its high-risk political and economic low points.

South Africa’s private sector remains the country’s backbone, employing as it does 13.5-million people, who represent 86% of the working population.

It is this body of taxpayers who foot the bill for the salaries of 2.2-million government employees.

As demanded by BLSA, the private sector should not stand by and allow this decline to become the “new normal”.

An effective mechanism that determines the truth needs to be applied fast to put an end to the effects of State capture before it does even more damage.

Proven corruption must be dealt with firmly to force a halt as South Africa takes steps to right itself once more.

Irrational Cabinet changes have caused an unnecessary decline in South Africa’s global financial standing.

But, instead of trying to restore South Africa’s damaged investment grading, certain individuals and organisations linked to State capture and corruption are using pseudoeconomics to dismiss the damaging effects of the sovereign credit downgrade to junk status and even to deride it.

These same individuals and organisations are also linked to State enterprises that are rewarding connected individuals questionably and serving citizens extremely poorly.

The shameless abuse of lies, slogans, racism and fake news points to the need for the rot that has set in to be removed.

Marches in various centres have pointed to the need to resolve issues promptly, openly and effectively.

It would be ideal for this to be accompanied by the emergence of a de facto leadership in advance of the de jure general election of 2019.

The country urgently needs leadership that commits to firmly putting the interests of the people above personal interests.