SAFTU calls on the President Ramaphosa to dismiss Arthur Fraser and Siyabonga Cwele with immediate effect

11 March 2019

The South African Federation of Trade Unions – SAFTU welcomes the report of the panel led by former Minister of Police, Sydney Mufamadi reviewing the Intelligence Services. President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed the panel in 2018.
SAFTU even before it came to existence has been a victim of the activities of the South African Intelligence Services that have been turned into being the enforcers of the state capture project. 

We believe that the independent, democratic and campaigning federation has been one of the worse victims of the shenanigans the report is exposing. In the past we have issued many statements highlighting the following incidents:

1. The officials and leaders of SAFTU and some of her affiliated unions had their homes broken into with such levels of professional thuggery that no doors or windows were broken

2.  SAFTU officials and leaders of her affiliated unions have had their laptops and cell phones stolen during these break-ins. 

3. Even before SAFTU was formed NUMSA had its offices broken into, stoned with the intent to break windows and destroy property.

4.  In the case of the NUMSA Deputy General Secretary, the crooks tied him in his own house. These were not ordinary crooks as they were only interested in his laptops, iPad and cell phones. 

5. SAFTU General Secretary and many other prominent South Africans, including the former Public Protector, Thuli Madonsela, former Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke, Justice Johan Froneman and others have had special “intelligence reports” circulated painting them as the agents of United States and imperialism. This all in an attempt to discredit and silence them. 

SAFTU is on record questioning the need for all of the commissions currently underway. These commissions have told us nothing we did not know.

SAFTU together with countless civil society formations including some of the opposition parties persistently demanded and campaigned for action to be taken following the many reports of the Public Protector including the report titled “The State of of State Capture’, the SACC’s Betrayal of the dream, The OUTA’ “President Caught in the Act”, the hundreds of Gupta emails, Jacques Pauw’s ‘The President’s Keepers’ and other sources.

Holding the culprits accountable is not in the DNA of this government whether led by Jacob Zuma or Cyril Ramaphosa. As examples: the then head of intelligence fingered in the report of the panel, Arthur Fraser was previously exposed that under his watch millions of rands were stolen, in the Jacques Pauw book. The police did not charge him; he was not disciplined even internally, instead he was rewarded with a plum job.

This did not happen during the so-called nine wasted years but during the era of the so-called ‘new dawn’ or ‘thuma mina’. He is not alone, the Minister of Intelligence during this era where rogue elements simply took over, Siyabonga Cwele have been promoted to more senior position, the Minister of Home Affairs. The current Minister of Police, Bheki Cele was condemned by the Public Protector in 2012 but promoted to Minister during the era of the so-called new dawn. The people who should be facing charges of corruption have kicked out the likes of Robert McBride seen by the public to be championing the struggle for clean governance. 

The Absolutely No Consequence - ANC culture is what has demoralised millions of South Africans and drives the culture of impunity. This is the culture is largely behind epidemic levels of corruption throughout the public sector. There is no good example right at the top of our government echelons. The message communicated to the traffic officials, police and other government officials is that there is nothing to fear and there is nothing wrong with asking for a cold drink for doing the work they are paid for. They see people responsible for the loss of billions of rands being walking the streets despite damning findings on their heads. 

South Africa does not need endless commissions to tell us what we know but the appointment of hardnosed, uncompromised professional prosecutors and police officials in particular at the leadership level to go after all of those implicated in all of the reports.  
What the country need is a new intelligence that will leave no stone unturned to get all of the known and unknown crooks that are responsible for pillaging that has cost the economy billions of rands that we so desperately need to improve government services, locked up. The biggest thieves in the private sector responsible for bribing and corrupting the public representatives and officials must be the first to be arrested.  

We call for the immediate arrest of Jacob Zuma, Arthur Fraser, Siyabonga Cwele, David Mahlobo together with all those that assisted them, and charged for defeating the ends of justice including possibly for treason against the people of this country. President Cyril Ramaphosa must chose to serve the country or the ANC, which was famously described by the President of the ANCWL, Bathabile Dlamini as a house where everyone has a skeleton in the closet.

Issued by Zwelinzima Vavi, General Secretary, SAFTU, 11 March 2019