Zuma dismisses ZEE slur

Parliament - The notion of ZEE, as opposed to BEE, had President Jacob Zuma flummoxed in the National Assembly on Wednesday.

"Honourable Member, what is CEE? Can you help us?" he enquired of Congress of the People MP Philip Dexter, who had just used the term in a question posed to the president.

"It's Z...E...E -- as in Zuma Economic Empowerment," Dexter spelled out, to laughter from MPs and Zuma himself.

Earlier, Dexter had asked why relatives of the president and people known to be his close confidantes, as well as business people close to the ruling party, were included in government-led overseas business delegations.

"Have business people from the families of leaders of other political parties been the beneficiaries of such generosity, or are the lucky individuals, who get what is now known as ZEE, only ANC members?" Dexter wanted to know.

Laughing loudly, a jovial Zuma responded by saying those business people who got to join government's overseas delegations were determined by the department of trade and industry (DTI) and Business Unity South Africa (Busa).

"Firstly, the delegations that go abroad... are determined by the DTI and Busa... Other business people go on their own.

"We are not there to tell business people what to do and what not to do; that's not our business. Nor can we tell people, because they were in the ANC, or friends of the ANC, that they must not do business.

"Nor can we tell people that, because they are related to people in government, by virtue of that they are not allowed to do business. I think it would be unfair to citizens of this country.

"So what you see in the delegations is what is meant to be a business delegation agreed to between DTI and Busa. Others might be on their own.

"There is no problem with that. Don't try to create a problem where there is no problem," Zuma said.