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THE security cluster’s decision to issue a high court challenge to Public Protector Thuli Madonsela's report on the security upgrades at President Jacob Zuma’s Nkandla home could have caused doubt about the new ANC-led government to come rushing to the surface again.
Voters could be asking: is the new government going to tackle rampant corruption - by mostly members of the ruling party - with honesty? Was it right to overwhelmingly vote for the party, despite the harm it has done to the state coffers and, by extension, the economy?
Another thing: it could have raised once again the question of whether Zuma is the right leader to turn this country into a peaceful and stable economic powerhouse.
These questions could have been triggered late last week when the government security cluster disclosed that they plan to contact the high court for a judicial review of Madonsela’s report.
The report, among other things, found that Zuma and his family unduly benefited from the so-called security upgrades at their private home in KwaZulu-Natal.
The security cluster is of the view that Madonsela’s report was short of “clarity in some areas”, and her findings were “irrational, contradictory and... informed by material errors of law”.
However Madonsela, who has complained that this move is going to be costly for her office, retorted this week that the cluster should have approached her for a further explanation of areas which they claim are not clear in the report.
It is indeed strange that the security cluster is considering a judicial review of the report without consulting its author to explain those points they are not happy with.
Could South Africans have voted for a government that does not believe in dialogue any more?
Given the promises the party made before the 2014 general elections, South Africans were beginning to think that the ANC rule would be much better this time around.
Many also thought that the government would be honest, try to rectify mistakes of the past and not fail those who gave it a second chance.
Lo and behold, hardly a month after winning general elections with a 62% majority, the ANC-led government, with this judicial review, has decided to really emasculate accountability processes in the country.
Just an election ploy
In its 2014 election manifesto, the ANC promised to deepen the fight against corruption and hold public officials individually liable for losses arising from corrupt actions. It turns out this was just an election ploy to win votes.
The judicial review of Madonsela’s Nkandla report goes against this particular section of the manifesto, as it seeks to protect the powerful from being accountable for their actions.
What does this tell us about the current ANC-led government?
It tells us that the ANC of the past 20 years could remain the same as the one that is going to rule this country for the next five years. They could continue to let corrupt officials within the government get away with murder, as it were, without taking any responsibility.
They could also not fulfil the promises they made before the elections. This becomes evident when considering that they knew long before the elections that they would recommend the judicial review of Madonsela’s report after the poll.
Why didn’t they do it before the elections? This could have cost them millions of votes. Is it not going to cost them a lot of votes in the future? It is, but five years is a long way from now.
They can do anything they wish. Nothing could ever happen to them in the short term. South Africans could be in for a far rougher ride in the next half-decade. The signs are already there.
In the meanwhile, Zuma is enjoying the limelight that his job offers and we have not heard anything from him about how he is going to improve the economy of the country, which continues to tank.
- Fin24
*Mzwandile Jacks is an independent journalist. Opinions expressed are his own.
Voters could be asking: is the new government going to tackle rampant corruption - by mostly members of the ruling party - with honesty? Was it right to overwhelmingly vote for the party, despite the harm it has done to the state coffers and, by extension, the economy?
Another thing: it could have raised once again the question of whether Zuma is the right leader to turn this country into a peaceful and stable economic powerhouse.
These questions could have been triggered late last week when the government security cluster disclosed that they plan to contact the high court for a judicial review of Madonsela’s report.
The report, among other things, found that Zuma and his family unduly benefited from the so-called security upgrades at their private home in KwaZulu-Natal.
The security cluster is of the view that Madonsela’s report was short of “clarity in some areas”, and her findings were “irrational, contradictory and... informed by material errors of law”.
However Madonsela, who has complained that this move is going to be costly for her office, retorted this week that the cluster should have approached her for a further explanation of areas which they claim are not clear in the report.
It is indeed strange that the security cluster is considering a judicial review of the report without consulting its author to explain those points they are not happy with.
Could South Africans have voted for a government that does not believe in dialogue any more?
Given the promises the party made before the 2014 general elections, South Africans were beginning to think that the ANC rule would be much better this time around.
Many also thought that the government would be honest, try to rectify mistakes of the past and not fail those who gave it a second chance.
Lo and behold, hardly a month after winning general elections with a 62% majority, the ANC-led government, with this judicial review, has decided to really emasculate accountability processes in the country.
Just an election ploy
In its 2014 election manifesto, the ANC promised to deepen the fight against corruption and hold public officials individually liable for losses arising from corrupt actions. It turns out this was just an election ploy to win votes.
The judicial review of Madonsela’s Nkandla report goes against this particular section of the manifesto, as it seeks to protect the powerful from being accountable for their actions.
What does this tell us about the current ANC-led government?
It tells us that the ANC of the past 20 years could remain the same as the one that is going to rule this country for the next five years. They could continue to let corrupt officials within the government get away with murder, as it were, without taking any responsibility.
They could also not fulfil the promises they made before the elections. This becomes evident when considering that they knew long before the elections that they would recommend the judicial review of Madonsela’s report after the poll.
Why didn’t they do it before the elections? This could have cost them millions of votes. Is it not going to cost them a lot of votes in the future? It is, but five years is a long way from now.
They can do anything they wish. Nothing could ever happen to them in the short term. South Africans could be in for a far rougher ride in the next half-decade. The signs are already there.
In the meanwhile, Zuma is enjoying the limelight that his job offers and we have not heard anything from him about how he is going to improve the economy of the country, which continues to tank.
- Fin24
*Mzwandile Jacks is an independent journalist. Opinions expressed are his own.
