There is a point in most wars when a masterstroke is required to turn impending defeat into victory. Sometimes it comes by accident, but usually, it is a bold plan, conceived by a strategic genius, and executed by daring soldiers.

General Surprise, more usually known as Siphiwe Nyanda, the minister of communications, faces such a moment. He made it clear that he will no longer tolerate business as usual in South Africa’s rapacious telecommunications sector, but he faces a stalemate.