Pay back the money!

The Nkandla saga – Nkandlagate – continues! The most recent development is this. The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) disrupted the order of the Parliament's sitting on Thursday afternoon. It is difficult to describe, but the speaker had to close the sitting. Most of the members of parliament left the house and only EFF members remained, shouting:

Pay back the money!

The Public Protector, Thuli Madonsela, has again given the President critique. Read more in News24. This time for not responding to her demand that he has to pay back money to the state, for the Nkandla upgrade. So, in essence, the EFF is only underlining the view of the Public Protector. But the way in which they do it – well, what can I say? Rather look for yourselves. The link comes: here. 

According to Iol-news, the Communist Party leader, Blade Nzimande, says that the EFF is a “dangerous cancer”. It is not surprising! First the SACP is in alliance with the ANC. Second, the EFF is attracting voters, who are to be found to left of the ANC. More especially those who might sympathize with a communist party. I think the ANC and the Communist Party need to reconsider their support for the president and his spending of public money.

Thuli Madonsela - Public Protector

Through radio, TV and web based newspapers I get a picture that South Africa has a very courageous Public Protector. Of course I am speaking under correction. I don’t have the in depth knowledge. Anyhow, she has managed to make some leaders in the ANC (the ruling party) nervous and I think that is an achievement in itself. Today, in Radio, I heard her speak out about the former minister Dina Pule, who was sacked by President Zuma in July. According to Madonsela she had lied to the parliament and should apologize. One can read about this in the EyewitnessNews.

But more interesting is the way she stands firm in relation to Nkandlagate. Some ANC leaders are accusing her for having leaked the report but she hits back and says that maybe the ministers, who got a pre-view of the report, have leaked it. News 24 has more.

Personally I think she is a great person. South Africa needs leaders like her. She is protecting South Africa from corruption. She is the Public Protector!

Guptagate

Yet another of all those “gates”! As we know it all started with the fall of Nixon after the Watergate affair 1972. Recently we have followed the Nkandlagate story, although it hasn’t led to the fall of Jacob Zuma yet. My gut feeling is that Zuma will survive the Guptagate, as well. This is also what the Mail and Guardian writes:

Meanwhile, analysts seem convinced that President Jacob Zuma will remain unharmed politically, despite his close relationship with the Gupta family.

There are already some scapegoats, which have been sacrificed. Some are police officers; others are staff at the air force base. But it won’t stop with them. The question Mail and Guardian asks is:

Who will take the fall for Guptagate?

For those who don’t know, the Gupta family is a rich, South African family with close links to the ANC and Jacob Zuma. In media the family is described as a major donor to the ANC. Last Saturday one family member got married. A private jet brought 200 guests from India to the wedding. Here started the so called Gupta saga. The family asked South African authorities for permission to land at the Waterkloof air force base outside Pretoria. This would make it much easier for the guests to get to Sun City, where the wedding was going to be held. The family claims they wanted to showcase South Africa as a friendly country and maybe bring many more visitors from India in years to come. Be that as it may! The request was refused!

This did not stop the family. If you are influential, you don’t take no for an answer. So, the Indian high commissioner, Virendra Gupta, was consulted and obviously he had other contacts. So what happened was this:

The plane landed at the air force base, without official permission.The South African Revenue Service was not informed, so no custom control took place.Police vehicles were used to accompany the guest from the air force base to Sun City.Blue lights were illegally fitted to the black BMW’s that had been hired for the occasion.Etc.

I am sure that the list can be made much longer. The bottom line is this: This family has close connections with the president of South Africa and the allegation is that this fact opened all the gates.

The mere fact that five (5) ministers were present at a press conference last week, tells at least me, that the whole government is worried. Yahoonews mentions Justice Minister Jeffrey Radebe, together with the ministers of home affairs, foreign affairs, police and defence. Five persons with a lot of power! What did they do? They announced that five officials and military personnel had been suspended from duty. Cowards!

At the press conference a journalist asked the ministers if the cabinet had known about this affair if it hadn’t been for the media. The question was left unanswered.

The new Secrecy bill may serve as a terrifying backdrop to this saga. What will happen in South Africa, if whistle blowers are not able to blow their whistles (or in the South African context: blow their vuvuzelas)? What will happen, if media don't report?

Mail and Guardian asks a relevant question about the involvement of the High Commissioner of India:

... did he act on the presumption that the plane carried an Indian diplomatic mission, or did he know that the passengers were part of a private party?

Because the family is also influential in India, there were some dignitaries on the plane. If so, one could argue, that those people, based on security reasons, needed to be treated differently. But if this was the case, wouldn’t it have been better to go through the Indian foreign affairs ministry?

Another issue is also reported about the way the wedding guests treated the black staff at Sun City. According to News24 the Gupta family brought in their own chefs and all the security guards were replaced by white persons. This is of course denied by the Gupta family, but the trade union is furious.

Secretary General Zwelinzima Vavi of COSATU says:

We must demand the fullest possible investigation into the whole incident and the real culprits exposed - not scapegoats from among the officials, who surely could not have taken such an obviously politically sensitive decision.

But then Vavi is also facing corruption charges in his own organisation.

People of South Africa: wake up! Revisit the constitution and the core values of Ubuntu! This is not the way forward! You deserve better!