DA delivers Mashatile corruption dossier to Ramaphosa
2 February 2024
Today, the Democratic Alliance (DA) handed over a dossier with an accompanying letter detailing damning allegations of corruption levelled against Deputy President, Paul Mashatile, to the Office of President Cyril Ramaphosa at the Union Buildings. Given that President Ramaphosa has, to this day, failed to act against Mashatile by firing him from his executive post and subjecting him to a thorough investigation by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), it is clear that President Ramaphosa has absolutely no will to address this scandal within his government.
Over the past few months, a series of explosive exposés have been published by numerous investigative journalists outlining, in granular detail, the extent to which Paul Mashatile engaged in a web of corruption and state capture spanning almost two decades - behaviour that has become commonplace under the ANC. These would constitute clear violations of the Prevention and Combatting of Corrupt Activities Act, the Public Finance Management Act, and the Executive Members’ Ethics Act. With this dossier now in hand, President Ramaphosa can no longer claim ignorance that his ‘Number Two’ is heading a state capture scheme the likes of which was last seen under Jacob Zuma.
Had President Ramaphosa carried out the lifestyle audits of his executive, as promised in his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) at the beginning of his term, all of these alleged corrupt dealings would have come to light across his cabinet. Five years later, the South African national executive is still comprised of numerous ministers facing severe allegations of corruption, with Paul Mashatile now the single most compromised. Yet another broken promise from a bystander president for which there have been no consequences.
With the opening of parliament scheduled for the coming week, we have now provided President Ramaphosa will all the information necessary to remove Paul Mashatile from Executive Office. South Africa cannot be presided over by a Deputy President whose corruption allegations are piling up by the day. Should President Ramaphosa fail to announce this crucial removal from his cabinet in his State of the Nation Address (SONA), the DA will pursue the following: