Gwede Mantashe should be ashamed of his inaction on Nkandla Scandal

10 January 2014

Speaking to the media yesterday at the Mbombela Stadium in Mpumalanga, the Secretary General of the ANC, Gwede Mantashe pledged the party's support for legal action to be taken against those who are responsible for the gross abuse of public money in upgrading President Zuma's private home in Nkandla. While the DA welcomes this newly found voice of reason from the ANC, it is concerning that this call seems to exclude President Jacob Zuma from the same scrutiny.

If Mr Mantashe's call for those who are responsible for this corruption was genuine and informed by a desire to promote accountability then President Zuma, as the owner of the property in question, should be among those who will be charged should they be implicated by the investigation. 

The reality is that the ANC's sudden about-turn on Nkandla has very little to do accountability and more to do with shielding President Zuma from being held liable for the hundreds of millions spent on his private home.

What is particularly worrying apart from Mr Mantashe's selective sense of right and wrong, is the constant questioning of the long awaited Public Protector's Report into Nkandla. There is a growing trend within the governing party to challenge the Public Protector's report to reflect the same findings as the inter-ministerial report- which is clearly a whitewash designed to ‘exonerate' President Zuma before the elections. 

Mr Mantashe's attempt at damage control smacks of desperation as the ANC battles to justify one of the biggest cases of abuse of public money in a democratic South Africa. Instead of committing to doing what is right and holding those who should be responsible, the full blame is passed on former ministers. 

The reality is that Mr Mantashe - who has been integral to the rise of President Jacob Zuma and his political survival - has been almost completely silent about this major corruption scandal since it was revealed in 2012. He should be deeply ashamed of this.

The DA continues to await the Public Protector's report that is to be finalised at the end of this month. We commit to doing everything possible to ensure that all those responsible - including those at the very top - are held accountable.  

Statement issued by Lindiwe Mazibuko MP, DA Parliamentary Leader, January 10 2014

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