NATIONAL NEWS - The public must carefully consider who they vote for in next year’s national elections, says former public protector Thuli Madonsela.

As the public heads to the polls, a suitable candidate and party should reflect the values enshrined in the constitution, a view Madonsela would campaign for through her foundation.

Referring to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s recent Cabinet reshuffle, which retained a few ministers with links to the Gupta family and close ties to former president Jacob Zuma, Madonsela said it was understandable as he had to “navigate the balance of forces in the ANC”.

This included a mix of “those who were for good and the others in favour of corruption”.

“And the Cabinet will reflect this until the public stands up. As we go to the next elections, we should only vote for a government that reflects section 195 of the constitution. Section 195 says public service should be run according to the highest level of professional ethics,” she said.

“Obviously, if somebody has not shown the highest level of professional ethics before they were enacted as a public representative, they are not suddenly or magically going to have the highest level of professional ethics.

“Therefore, when people put that cross on the ballot paper, they will have to look at the party list and ask which party reflects section 195 of the constitution and which party does not.”

Read more on the Caxton publication, The Citizen.