By Simon Nare
The DA has launched an attack on President Cyril Ramaphosa, accusing him of being indecisive, protecting his allies in the ANC and choosing the party over the country.
The attack stems from Ramaphosa not taking any action against Minister in The Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, who the National Prosecuting Authority has confirmed is ready to prosecute over a Limpopo illegal tender while she was municipal manager.
Calls for Ramaphosa to dismiss or suspend Ntshavheni have been deafening following confirmation by the Hawks that they have referred a docket to the NPA detailing allegations of fraud and corruption against her.
The allegations relate to her alleged involvement in a R2.5 million illegal tender while she was municipal manager of Ba-Phalaborwa local municipality, which were also highlighted in findings by Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke.
DA state security spokesperson Dianne Kohler Barnard said in a statement on Monday that she wrote to Ramaphosa last week asking for swift action against Ntshavheni, but the president had not acted.
“While the Presidency acknowledged receipt of my letter, this is simply not enough considering the seriousness of proceedings against Ntshavheni. Further, considering his stunt last week to destabilise the government, he has time on his hands.
“It shows his disinterest in providing clean and accountable governance over the executive. The president’s actions always speak louder than his words – and his inaction is damning,” she said.
Barnard said that even Ntshavheni had not responded to the criminal investigation and this indicated that she either did not have a defence, or she also did not care about bringing South Africans into her confidence.
“The DA reiterates our call for her axing. This is sadly unlikely considering the president’s failure to act against his former Justice Minister (now Human Settlements Minister Thembi Simelane) and Deputy President [Paul Mashatile].
“Minister Simelane is quite literally accused of stealing from the poor in the VBS Scandal, while Mashatile lives in luxury mansions he has not paid for. Yet, still no action from the president,” she added.
Barnard said Ramaphosa had become best known for doing nothing when it most mattered. Instead, the president’s main focus was the ANC and his grip on power.
She added that the president’s indecisive and inaction was one of the reasons why her party in Parliament moved a motion for the establishment of a committee to oversee The Presidency, which had been agreed to by the Rules Committee.
“We, however, have serious questions about why it did not come before the House for the final vote, prior to our rising in early December. We trust that there will soon be a vote,” she said.
The attack on Ramaphosa comes at the back of a fierce criticism by the DA over Ramaphosa’s signing of the Expropriation Bill into law. It paves the way for expropriation of land by the national and provincial government, as well as municipalities of private land for public use.
The clash over policies between the two main players in the Government of National Unity is further evidence of the political ideology gulf that exists and is now rendering the coalition fragile.
Last week, Mashatile demanded the immediate resignation of Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson, who is a member of the DA, stating that he must step down if he is unwilling to implement the policies of his portfolio relating to the new law.
The DA is set to brief the media on Tuesday on the political developments following a federal council meeting at the weekend.
INSIDE POLITICS
