It’s time for Parliament to fire Jacob Zuma and his mafia syndicate

3 November 2016

The Public Protector’s report into State Capture confirms what so many South Africans already know: our country is governed by a mafia – a criminal syndicate so deeply interlinked with private crony interests that it is no longer possible to distinguish between the two.

This mafia steals from the poor, redirecting opportunities away from hard-working South Africans to those who have our President’s in their pocket: a wealthy, connected elite with no care for the 8.9 million jobless South Africans and the devastating inequality our country faces today.

This should leave every South African incensed with anger. I am angry.

There must be consequences for this conduct. It cannot be business as usual, with disingenuous lip-service and selective outrage that disappears with the news-cycle.

A leader with a conscience, committed to his oath of office, and the Constitution, would not have to think twice about what to do following the release of the report. There should have been only one official statement from the Presidency yesterday evening: a full and unconditional apology and an announcement of his resignation effective immediately.

But this will not come, because this is not a man of integrity. This is a man who is prepared to sell his country to the highest bidder. This is a puppet of cronyism and corruption.

It is now time for the elected representatives of the people of South Africa to come together and use the power they have, in terms of our Constitution, to fire Jacob Zuma as soon as possible.

The DA has already tabled a motion of no confidence in Jacob Zuma to do just this, and we can today reveal that we have received provisional confirmation that this motion will be debated in the National Assembly next week Thursday, 10 November 2016.

This next week will be the moment of reckoning for our country. We have to speak out against this attack on our Constitution and our democracy and fire Jacob Zuma immediately. We must do this for our country and for generations to come.

To ensure this happens, the DA will launch a public campaign to build support for our motion. This will include the lobbying of all Members of Parliament in the House, including the ANC. This motion should not be viewed as a partisan motion – We do not see it as a DA motion. This is a South African motion - it is an opportunity for us to represent our people and speak truth to power on their behalf.

I know there are ANC MPs and Cabinet ministers who have had enough. They have an opportunity to actually do something about their anger next week Thursday.

The State Capture Report also contains damning evidence against members of cabinet and state entities. There must be accountability for their conduct.

President Jacob Zuma:

The DA will lay criminal charges against President Jacob Zuma in terms of the Prevention and Combatting of Corrupt Activities Act of 2004.

In terms of this Act, there is a duty on persons in position of authority who know or ought reasonable to have known or suspected that any other person has committed an offence under the Act to report such knowledge or suspicion to the police. The act also requires only evidence of suspicion for charges to be laid. It is the police’s responsibility to investigate these allegations.

President Jacob Zuma’s failure to call for a police investigation following the public revelation that the Gupta family had offered Deputy Minister Mcebesi Jonas a position in his government so that he could extend favours to them – constituting corruption - is a violation of this provision of the Act.

These charges will also include evidence from the report that President Jacob Zuma improperly influenced the appointment and awarding of contracts to family members, friends and associates. This includes evidence that:

- The president improperly allowed members of the Gupta family and his son to be involved in the process of appointing members of Board of Directors of SOE’s

- The president turned a blind eye to alleged corrupt practises by the Gupta family and his son in relation to allegedly linking appointments to quid pro quo conditions, as was the case with Mcebesi Jonas

- Zuma may have exposed himself to a situation involving the risk of conflict between his official duties and his private interest of use his position or information entrusted to him to enrich himself and business owned by the Gupta family and his son to be given preferential treatment in the awarding of contracts

Minister of Public Enterprises & Eskom

Minister Browne is alleged to have appointed the Eskom board consisting predominantly of individuals with direct and indirect business or personal relationships with Duduzane Zuma, the Gupta family, and their relates associated.

She appointed a new Denel Board, save for one board member, who had links to a Gupta company. Following the removal of the board, momentum gathered for the dubious joint venture between Denel and VR Laser, forming Denel Asia. This is the joint venture which the National Treasury sought to have revoked.

The DA accordingly:

- Calls for the immediate resignation of Lynne Brown

- Calls on Eskom CEO, Brian Molefe to step down immediately. If he doesn’t he should be fired.

- Demands all Eskom board members to resign immediately, failing which a full parliamentary inquiry must be conducted into their fitness

- Lay criminal charges in terms of the PFMA and Prevention and Combatting of Corruption Act against accounting authorities

The Minister of Mineral Resources:

The Public Protector noted that it appeared that Minister Zwane acted in his personal interests while on his trip to Switzerland, and this conduct is not in line with Section 2 of the Executive Members Ethics Act. Furthermore, that it is potentially unlawful for the Minister to use his official position of authority to unfairly and unduly influence a contract for a friend or in this instance, his boss’s son at the expense of the State.

The DA accordingly:

- Calls on Minister Zwane to resign immediately

- Will lay criminal charges in terms of the Prevention and Combatting of Corruption Act, following prima facie evidence that he used his official position to influence a contract

The Guptas and Duduzane Zuma

The DA has already laid criminal charges against the Guptas and Duduzane Zuma. We will submit this report to the Hawks to supplement their current investigation. This report details significant prima facie evidence of high level corruption by both.

Report must be referred to ad hoc committee of Parliament

Now that the report has been tabled in Parliament, and included in today’s ATC, Parliament must establish an ad hoc committee to deal with this report and ensure that accountability is ensured.

For 7 years South Africa has suffered under the Presidency of Jacob G. Zuma. His term in office has been a blight on this country, and we should unite now to end it as soon as we can, so that our country can move on.

We know that South Africa can be so much better than what it is today. We are filled with hope for the future of our country, and the release of this Report is not a reason to be depressed about the future. It shows that our institutions are working to stop corruption and wide scale plunder of the state. So we are still positive that South Africa will emerge from this crisis much stronger, much wiser, much more mature. But in order to do that, we have to remove Jacob Zuma, and we have to do it now.

Issued by Mabine Seabe, Spokesperson to the DA Leader, 3 November 2016