Corrupt officials are behind much of what bothers us most in our new society.

Corrupt officials are behind much of what bothers us most in our new society.

So the report yesterday about a prison warder bust as he was trying to sell master keys to open every cell in our nation's jails should not have come as a shock.

Nor should we have been surprised by the report about police arresting 10 officials at licensing and testing stations around Johannesburg on charges of falsely registering more than 700 stolen vehicles worth R83million.

Let's hope these arrests are the first sign of the new administration's stated intention to clean up corruption in the civil service.

We will never be truly free until we can trust our bureaucrats to serve us fairly without fear or favour.