Presidential hopefuls speak out against state capture

The front-runners for leadership of the ANC are making a stand against corruption, writes Legalbrief. ANC deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa says the party can no longer afford to ignore the mounting evidence on state capture. Business Day reports that he was addressing hundreds of supporters attending the OR Tambo lecture. Ramaphosa said allegations of state capture not only damaged the party’s image but also had a profound effect on public institutions and the country’s economy. Ramaphosa said it was time for the ANC to confront state capture reports in order to restore dignity and regain the trust of voters. He said those implicated in state capture had to be taken to task because South Africans had given the ANC the responsibility to manage the country’s economy.

ANC presidential hopeful Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has voiced her backing for a commission of inquiry into the Guptas’ alleged infiltration into the SA government. The Times quotes Dlamini-Zuma as saying that she agreed with former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s State of Capture report which recommended there be a formal probe into the controversial family. ‘The Public Protector called for a commission of inquiry into it. I agree it should be commissioned so that if they are at fault‚ it should be known‚’ Dlamini-Zuma said. ‘If they have done any wrong‚ they should take responsibility for it so yes‚ government should conduct this commission.’ Quizzed on what should happen to government officials who are also alleged to have had dealings with the Guptas‚ she responded that they too should be dealt with. The former African Union chairperson said there was no room for corruption. ‘We should take a stand and fight it as the government. Corrupt officials should be dealt with accordingly‚’ she said.

Mathews Phosa, who also has his eye on the ANC presidency, has warned looters of state resources that he would throw them in jail should he be elected president of the party in December and the country in 2019. City Press reports that unofficially launching his campaign at an Oliver Tambo memorial lecture, Phosa tore apart President Jacob Zuma’s administration for having not launched an investigation into the leaked Gupta e-mails. The former ANC treasurer-general said struggle icon Tambo would be shocked if he were alive to see what was happening.

ANC MP Makhosi Khoza has, meanwhile, declared the ruling party’s morality all but dead after Zuma fended off a motion of no confidence in Parliament. According to a report in The Times, Khoza says: ‘Tuesday‚ 8 August 2017 will go down in South African history as the day the ANC’s moral pulse was all but extinguished. Going into the vote‚ it was doubtful whether much of a moral pulse existed at all. Coming out of the vote‚ the pulse was there thanks to the actions of 25-35 ANC MPs but that pulse is now weak and fading. In the recent past‚ it has become evident that not only will most of the ANC’s MPs choose to defend an immoral leader‚ many of those will also choose to attack those who side with morality and honesty. Those of us who supported the vote of no confidence have been accused of disloyalty. As I prepare to face my disciplinary process‚ it remains clear to me that the greatest disloyalty possible by a member of the ANC‚ is abandoning the people who elected us to power.’