President Jacob Zuma’s call for a national cleansing ceremony in the wake of decline in morals in the rainbow nation, the Marikana tragedy, the rape of elderly women, political assassinations and road accidents is welcome. This move has received support from Zulu culture adherents who hold that traditional and cultural cleansing rituals would be performed by those entrusted with powers to communicate with the spirits to contain bad luck and occurrence of tragic events.

While Zuma ought to be lauded for giving African culture a chance in the modern socio-economic and political discourse, he should guard against leading South Africans to shun responsibility by attributing their daily challenges to the intangible world. Doing this will embroil South Africa in a trap that Ghanaians have found themselves in, where instead of rationally addressing the causes of sickness, economic imbroglios and failure in their midst, they attribute their calamities to roving malevolent spirits.

Zuma must address the economic order in South Africa that is skewed against the majority blacks. He must address the rising political discontent accruing from marginalization of dissenting voices. He ought to establish why the highway code is violated and why the moral fibre is deteriorating. Blaming this on intangible forces will drive that nation in circles.