Zwane's professed ignorance in the Zondo Commission testimony is in fact arrogance
25 September 2020
Note to Editors: Click here for soundbites in English and Afrikaans by Dr Roy Jankielsohn MPL, Leader of the Official Opposition in the Free State Legislature.
The noose of justice is closing around the necks of former Free State politicians such as Mosebenzi Zwane and Ace Magashule as officials are no longer willing to fall on their swords to protect their former political heads.
It is no coincidence that Mosebenzi Zwane was appointed to Departments such as Human Settlements and Agriculture and Rural Development in the Free State that resulted in the R1 billion housing and the R380 million Vrede Dairy scandals. It is becoming blatantly apparent that Zwane was handpicked to be the political head of departments that were earmarked for looting.
In his defence, Zwane’s testimony and defence at the Zondo Commission regarding the housing issue is based on ignorance of the law and government tender procedures while deliberately throwing the implicated officials under the bus of accountability. This is not new in the Free State where officials are similarly facing criminal charges in the Vrede Dairy and other allegations of corruption, while politicians have yet to be charged.