It was Confucius, the great Chinese philosopher, who said: "To know what is right and to not do it is the worst of cowardice."

Political integrity is when actual integrity collides with the compromises that shady governance demands.

Finance minister Nhlanhla Nene's bungled response on his association with the Guptas is a case in point.

He bravely stood against a powerful president who was determined to saddle his country with eternal debt on nuclear energy, and in the process he became enmeshed and mired in radio-active politics.

Integrity is a rare commodity, especially in a toxic political environment like ours. Those who aspire to live up to high standards of accountability do not last.

Farouk Araie, Johannesburg