SACP General Secretary, Blade Nzimande, says president Cyril Ramaphosa is being persecuted for fighting corruption.
Nzimande’s comments came at the 98th birthday celebrations in Mpumalanga, and follows weekend reports of leaked emails which suggest that Ramaphosa knew the funders of his CR17 campaign for the ANC presidency.
Online news publication, NEWS24 said Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane had referenced these emails in her report into a R500,000 donation Ramaphosa received to his campaign from Bosasa CEO Gavin Watson in October 2017.
Last month, Ramaphosa took the Public Protector’s report on an urgent judicial review and described the report as “fundamentally and irretrievably flawed.”
“There’s a huge attempt to displace Comrade Ramaphosa. The ANC is in distress. Its divided. Let’s swell the ranks and save our movement,” Nzimande said.
SACP chairperson Senzeni Zokwana told delegates that president Ramaphosa was being undermined.
“Let’s get rid of those who want to clean the ANC. Let’s ensure that their agenda to undermine the president does not succeed. And that will be done by us comrades,” Zokwana said.
Nzimande said Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan is being targeted because he was the first to expose the Ratanang Trust’s links to EFF leader Julius Malema.
“Some are trying to destroy communist leaders in government, coming up with fake details about corruption. We’re saying they must present those details publicly. We’ll defend our comrades, said the SACP leader.
DA spokesperson Solly Malatsi said the president had questions to answer.
“It is high time now that the president comes out to reassure South African that none of the individuals or groups that paid donations to his campaign have not previously benefited from appropriating from the state, or there were no commitments whatsoever for them to benefit,” said Malatsi.
Back in Mpumalanga, Nzimande added that his party rejects the notion that the economy has been struggling since Ramaphosa took office, instead, he said, the economy is floundering because of the billions stolen through state capture.
He then addressed Malema directly.
“You call yourself a commander in Chief but what war have you fought? We the ones who actually know war, we know we want to negotiate because war is not easy. Leave that fake CiC, the only real CiC is Ramaphosa,” Nzimande said referring to Malema.
He called on South Africans to fight against corruption and state capture.
In a broad address, Nzimande also blasted US foreign policy.
“Everywhere the United States has attacked it has left a track of destruction. Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya.”
He said Washington must stop trying to stage a coup against the democratically elected government of Venezuela.
“The SACP also continues to offer solidarity to the people of Palestine in their fight against Israeli apartheid,” Nzimande added.
