Fighting those who fight corruption

Note to Editors: The following speech was delivered by DA Shadow Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, David Maynier MP, in the State of the Nation (SONA) Debate in the National Assembly this afternoon.

Twenty-one years ago I took my seat in the public gallery to witness the first State of the Nation Address in the first democratic Parliament of South Africa.

What an honour it was to see President Nelson Mandela inspire the nation with a vision of a shared destiny, of freedom, and of hope.

But this vision has been shattered.

And it has been shattered by one man.

And that man is President Jacob Zuma.

Because for six years the president has given the middle finger to the Constitution, the middle finger to Parliament, and the middle finger to the people of South Africa.

And by doing so he has shattered the vision of a shared destiny, of freedom, and of hope set out by President Nelson Mandela twenty-one years ago in this Parliament.

In his State of the Nation Address, President Jacob Zuma told us "the fight against corruption continues".

However, the truth is we are in the middle of a countrywide "robbery-in-progress".

And at the centre of this robbery-in-progress is one case: "Nkandlagate".

And at the centre of "Nkandlagate" is one man.

And that man is President Jacob Zuma.

Now, a forensic audit report prepared by KPMG in 2006 found that:

"Zuma, in his personal capacity, did not have access to sufficient funds derived from his position, as an official employed by the South African Government, to fund his expenses and liabilities and as a consequence had to rely on funds from external sources."

At the time, "external sources" made 783 payments, totaling over R4 million, to the president.

This illustrates the root cause of the problem, which is that (1) the president's household expenses exceed his household income and (2) the president relies on external sources of funding to make up the difference between his household expenses and his household income.

Those external sources have included the Shaiks, the Reddys and the Guptas, but now include the taxpayers, who forked out R246 million for the president's private residence at Nkandla.

Advocate Thuli Madonsela, the Public Protector, found that the president:

"... improperly benefited from the measures implemented in the name of security which include none-security comforts [such as] the Visitors Centre, such as the swimming pool, amphitheatre, and cattle kraal with culvert and chicken run."

But the report has been buried and the president has no intention of "paying back the money".

This is because we are governed by those who in exile ground and crushed their opponents to win power in South Africa.

And they are grinding and crushing their opponents to stay in power in South Africa.

The Executive has been crushed by appointing Cabinet ministers whose principal qualification is that they can be relied upon to say, "Yes, No. 1."

The perfect example is the Minister of Energy, Tina Joemat-Pettersson, who, if she were asked to sign a dubious nuclear framework agreement, could be relied upon to say, "Yes, No. 1."

And the Legislature has been crushed:

By appointing a Speaker of the National Assembly whose principal qualification is that she can be relied upon to say, "Yes, No. 1."; and

By appointing committee chairpersons whose principal qualification is that they can be relied upon to say, "Yes, No. 1."

The perfect example is the Chairperson of the Ad Hoc Committee on Nkandla, Cedric Frolik, who, if he were asked to see no evil, to hear no evil or to speak no evil, could be relied upon to say, "Yes, No. 1."

The independent investigating units have been crushed by purging officials who don't say, "Yes, No 1."

The Scorpions? Crushed! The Hawks? Crushed! The National Prosecuting Authority? Crushed! The Special Investigating Unit? Crushed! And the South African Revenue Service? Crushed!

That is why when the president tells us that "the fight against corruption continues" nobody believes him.

Because, the truth is, he is not fighting corruption. He is fighting those who fight corruption.

President Jacob Zuma has broken what President Nelson Mandela built in South Africa.

Which means that new battle lines are being drawn in a new struggle for freedom in South Africa.

And that struggle will be:

Between the champions of freedom of speech, in the opposition, and the enemies of freedom of speech, in the ruling party;

Between the champions of the right to privacy, in the opposition, and the enemies of the right to privacy, in the ruling party; and

Between the champions of a free media, in the opposition, and the enemies of a free media, in the ruling party.

In the end, new battle lines are being drawn in a new struggle for freedom between the champions of President Nelson Mandela's vision for South Africa, in the opposition, and the enemies of President Nelson Mandela's vision for South Africa, in the ruling party.

Issued by DA, February 17 2015

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