SACP statement on Minister Zwane's utterances‎ and the Presidency distancing the Cabinet from those utterances

The South African Communist Party notes the statement by the Presidency released on Friday 2 September clarifying that the utterances made by the Minister of Mineral Resources Mosebenzi Zwane in a statement he released on Thursday 1 September represented his personal views and not those of the Cabinet.

The Minister said a Cabinet Inter-Ministerial Committee in which he is involved recommended to the President to establish a judicial commission of inquiry into the decisions taken by various financial institutions to cut business ties with the Gupta owned Oakbay Investment.

This directly contradicted a public outcry and call to the President, including by the SACP, to establish a judicial commission of inquiry into corporate state capture not limited to but including allegations levelled against the Guptas. 

Minister Zwane's utterances effectively fed into the use of our Cabinet to advance the private business interests of the Guptas while ignoring public outcry and call for a judicial commission into corporate state capture.

It also shows how an individual Cabinet Minister can use his position to serve private business interests, break policy coherence and cause the confusions such as the Presidency had to clarify regarding Zwane's utterances.‎ Such wrongful things must come to an end. The President needs to consider further action to achieve the objective.

Statement issued by the SACP, 3 September 2016