CHARLES MOLELE
CABINET has come out in full support of the Hawks and other law enforcement agencies as they continue to swoop on corrupt government officials and political bigwigs, according to Minister in the Presidency Jackson Mthembu.
Mthembu also denied that the high-profile arrests of more than 17 suspects in the past few days were politically motivated.
This comes after supporters of ANC secretary general Ace Magashule – including regional structures of the ANC Youth League, alleged that State Organs were once again being used to fight ANC factional battles.
Mthembu was on Wednesday addressing the media on the agenda of the two-day meeting, which will be attended by President Cyril Ramaphosa, Deputy President David Mabuza, Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Premiers and representatives of the South African Local Government Association (SALGA).
“We fully support the Hawks and all our law enforcement agencies, including the police, the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA),” said Mthembu.
“We will always come to their defence [when they are under attack]. We have seen crime and corruption rear their ugly heads, so this government Lekgotla will also look into how we look into crime and corruption. We need to look at how we do justice to the public purse.”
Thus far, the Hawks have arrested more than 17 high-profile individuals, including controversial businessman Edwin Sodi, in what has being dubbed the first of the “Zondo Arrests”.
Last week, former ANC MP Vincent Smith handed himself over to the police and appeared in court on charges of corruption.
He was granted R30 000 bail.
Umhlanga businessman Thoshan Panday and Colonel Navin Madhoe have also appeared in court on allegations of fraud and corruption involving police accommodation and supplies for officers working on the 2010 Soccer World Cup while former KwaZulu-Natal police chief Mmamonnye Ngobeni handed herself in to the police.
On Tuesday night, ANC Youth League in the Free State accused Ramaphosa’s administration of using State Organs to fight ANC factional battles.
In a statement issued shortly after news broke of an arrest warrant having been issued against Magashule, who is a former premier of the Free State, the youth league said it had observed “a carefully choreographed programme of using the reactionary media and state organs to isolate certain leaders of the ANC, particularly the secretary-general of the ANC, Cde Ace Magashule”.
Mthembu denied these allegations.
On Wednesday, Cosatu threatened to break away from the ANC tripartite alliance if corruption was not meaningfully addressed.
Cosatu president Zingisa Losi said the trade union federation welcomed the arrests by the Hawks, saying Cosatu supported efforts by law enforcement agencies to rid the country of corruption without fear or favour.
Writing in his weekly letter recently, Ramaphosa said COVID-19 corruption was ‘a crime against South African humanity’.
He said his administration had done much to turn its back on the era of ‘State Capture’ by disrupting and dismantling the networks that had infiltrated government, state companies, including law enforcement agencies to loot public resources.
“We have rebuilt vital institutions like the National Prosecuting Authority, SA Revenue Service and the Hawks. Through the establishment of bodies like the Investigating Directorate in the NPA, we have strengthened the hand of law enforcement to investigate and prosecute these crimes. And through the establishment of the SIU Special Tribunal, we have increased our capacity to get back funds stolen from the state,” said Ramaphosa.
“We have taken this approach to detect, investigate and prosecute Covid-related corruption. A special centre has been established that brings together the Financial Intelligence Centre, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate, National Prosecuting Authority, the Hawks, Crime Intelligence and the SAPS Detective Service, South African Revenue Service, Special Investigating Unit and the State Security Agency.”
(COMPILED BY INSIDE POLITICS STAFF)
