Our impoverished country stands bewildered and shattered as revelations on the complete looting of various institutions are unveiled before deputy chief justice Raymond Zondo.

The elite stand indicted before the nation as they brazenly declare their innocence. Evidence in the public domain is truly staggering.

They corrupt shamelessly and hide behind their cadre pedigree. A bizarre spectacle involving a batch of liars, who are oblivious to the carnage and wreckage they left behind. All of their denials are riddled with blatant lies.

They are all guilty of self-deception, a type of motivated irrationality, the art of believing something simply because it is desired to be true when the evidence points to the very opposite.

They have all been unmasked as cynical self-interested liars. Events have revealed that in order to sustain deception over time, one needs to be very alert, clever and consistent.

What would the equilibrium level of trade be without the stimulus of corruption? Once it ceases to be a honey pot for the enrichment of the well-connected, it would dwindle into an irreducible strategic reality.

Deception and politics have enveloped the soul of Mzansi in their vicious tentacles.

This deadly embrace is the reason why endemic corruption is inevitable, as the steady parade of high-profile politicians become exclusive members of the rogues' gallery.

As more patronage purveyors are unearthed, they will have the dubious distinction of having their names embossed in our gigantic hall of shame.

Farouk Araie

Actonville, Benoni