To fix South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa should be bold

THE new president of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, has a heck of a mess to clear up (see ). Under Jacob Zuma, who was forced to resign last week, corruption thrived, the law was mocked and investors fled. Unemployment, including those who have given up hope of finding work, is an alarming 36%. Public debt is soaring: the budget released on February 21st expects it to rise to 56% of GDP by 2023, up from 26% in 2009 when Mr Zuma took over. Economic growth slumped from an average of 5% in the five pre-Zuma years to 1.5% on his watch, barely keeping up with the rise in population. Schools are in chaos, public health is a disgrace and Cape Town is running out of water. Mr Ramaphosa needs to move fast to restore the rule of law, revive investor confidence and fix public services. He should start by hiring good people.That would be a huge change. Mr Zuma chose his lieutenants not for their honesty or competence but for their pliability and loyalty. Spotless integrity was not required, even for those charged with upholding the law. The country’s chief prosecutor had been caught lying under oath; his deputy was struck off the roll of lawyers for misleading a court. The head of an anti-corruption police agency was appointed after a judge ruled that he was dishonest. When picking bosses for state-owned companies, Mr Zuma appears to have taken advice from his friends, the Gupta brothers, who are accused by the former Public Protector of “capturing” the state for their own ends. Throughout Mr Zuma’s time in power, useless ministers were allowed to doze through parliamentary sessions and preside over collapsing departments—as long as they were loyal.