Ramaphosa must play open cards about theft at his farm

Dr. Pieter Groenewald

FF Plus leader

(Parliamentary budget vote debate: Presidency)

9 June 2022

The incident that allegedly transpired on President Cyril Ramaphosa's farm, and has been making the headlines lately, contains all the elements constituting the offence of concealing a crime.

It is when a victim does not have the offender prosecuted or suppresses the evidence against them in exchange for compensation.

The people of South Africa have many burning questions about the matter, and rightfully so.

The President says that he is willing to appear before the ANC's Ethics Committee, but he must rather play open cards with the people of South Africa. He is the one who said that the people of South Africa must come first, and he needs to realise that the truth always comes out.

In his speech, the President painted a picture of the state of affairs in South Africa that is totally different from reality.

One example is that the Special Investigating Unit (SUI) recommended that 463 cases against public officials must be investigated and that disciplinary steps must be taken. It did not happen.

And when it comes to crime, the figures confirm that more than 6 000 murders were committed in the first three months of this year alone. During that time, 157 907 people were victims of violent crime, that is more than 52 000 per month.

All these people have been severely traumatised. It points to deep-rooted social problems.

Another alarming trend is that people are increasingly taking the law into their own hands. It is a clear sign that the public no longer has any faith in the police or the criminal justice system.

In the first three months of this year, the murder of women increased with a shocking 70,5% in comparison to the same period last year. The murder of children increased with 37,2%.

An internal survey in the police service brought to light that 53% of all police members say the police are dishonest. The matter needs urgent attention.

The issue of Afrikaans is also important. The Minister of Arts and Culture, Nathi Mthethwa, is threatening to remove the word "Afrikaans" from the name of the Afrikaans Taal Monument and Museum, even though there is probably no other monument in South Africa that is more inclusive or gives more recognition to other languages, like the Nguni and Khoi San languages.

The President accepted my invitation to visit the Monument so that he can gain a deeper understanding of its symbolism. It might bring him to new insights.

Issued by the FF Plus, 10 June 2022