Zuma Inc: Speaker rejects DA's call for a debate
Today the Speaker of the National Assembly, Honourable Max Sisulu, rejected the DA's request for a parliamentary debate on the growing number of state deals that have reportedly benefited the friends and affiliates of President Jacob Zuma.
The Speaker rejected the DA's call for a debate on the grounds that it was "not specific and definite" and did not deal with a "matter for which the government can be held responsible." A copy of the letter can be found here.
The Speaker is just plain wrong.
First of all, the topic for debate is perfectly defined. In our letter requesting the debate, we explicitly set out the specific allegations involving the President's friends and family.
Secondly, reported abuses of power by state officials awarding government deals to individuals connected to the President is a matter involving government. If, as the reports suggest, the President's family and friends are being favoured in government tender processes, it is a matter of profound national importance. It is therefore appropriate for Parliament to interrogate the extent of the problem.
This government has continually avoided being held accountable for chronic public sector corruption. The Speaker's decision reinforces the perception that ANC cadres will continue to do so at all costs, despite the constitutional obligation for Parliament to hold the Executive to account.
We will not let the matter rest there.
I will today be submitting a series of parliamentary questions to obtain details about the state deals in which the President's family and affiliates have reportedly been involved.
We want to know:
· When the President became aware of businessman Roux Shabangu's involvement in the SAPS lease deals, and whether he had any concerns about Mr Shabangu's involvement;
· Why an inexperienced company of which the President's nephew, Khulubuse Zuma, is a director was named the preferred party to take over the Pamodzi mines;
· Why an inexperienced company to which the President's son, Duduzane Zuma, is linked was controversially awarded prospecting rights to a residual share of the Sishen iron ore mine; and
• How the President's son-in-law Lonwabo Sambudla came to be involved in a controversial R1-billion state tender for new government office space.
Given that state officials and individuals connected to the President- and, by extension, the President himself- have reportedly been linked to questionable government deals, this is quite clearly a matter about which government must be held to account.
The President's compromised position, given the corruption allegations leveled against him and the numerous reports of individuals connected to him benefitting from state deals, has left him unable to make any meaningful impact on tackling corruption.
His refusal to take swift action against the Minister of Public Works and the National Police Commissioner for their involvement in the SAPS lease deal scandal is the most recent example.
Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe yesterday described corruption as "cancerous", and stated that everyone, including political leaders, needed to work together to eliminate it. The first step towards addressing corruption is not, as the Deputy President yesterday suggested, to investigate the introduction of subjects related to ethics in schools. It is not our country's future leaders who need to learn about the ethics of running a government in a transparent and accountable fashion, but those leaders that are currently in power.
This administration has established a host of committees, task teams and corruption-busting units. However, in failing to act against corrupt state officials, it has proven itself unwilling to take the tough decisions necessary to prove it is truly committed to corruption free governance.
Statement issued by Athol Trollip MP, DA Parliamentary Leader, August 18 2011
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