Cyril warns the Hawks
Don’t disturb the economy, he says
DEPUTY President Cyril Ramaphosa has warned the Hawks not the destabilise the country as he pledged his support for embattled Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, who faces possible arrest by the investigating unit.
Speaking at former Eastern Cape premier Makhenkesi Stofile’s funeral at the University of Fort Hare in Alice yesterday, Ramaphosa said the threat of Gordhan’s arrest should be of concern to all South Africans.
“Right now we are facing a situation where the Minister of Finance is today almost facing what could be arrest.
“It is something that should concerns us … because when the government works well it should be a government that does not wage war against itself.
“Standing here, I pledge my total confidence in the Minister of Finance in the way that he is busy doing his work,” said Ramaphosa.
He also referred to President Jacob Zuma’s earlier statement that Zuma had faith in Gordhan but could not interfere in the Hawks’ investigation.
“Whatever various agencies of government have to do, [they] should do it in a way that does not destabilise government, that does not destabilise our economy, that does not demonstrate to our people that we are a government that is at war with itself,” he said, to applause.
Ramaphosa was representing Zuma, who could not attend the funeral as he is abroad.
A number of speakers did not mince their words and openly criticised the ANC leadership – and the President in particular.
The harshest criticism came from former foreign affairs director-general turned businessman Sipho Pityana, who called on Zuma to step down.
Gordhan was among the dignitaries present – as were former president Kgalema Motlanthe and a number of government ministers and ANC leaders.
Gordhan was asked to meet the Hawks yesterday, in a letter they sent asking him to present himself at their Pretoria offices for a warning – an indication of imminent arrest or a criminal charge.
But Gordhan issued a statement saying he would not attend the meeting.
Stofile’s death came days after the ANC suffered humiliating losses in key municipalities including Nelson Mandela Metro, where Stofile was actively involved in politics as a student, as well as in the City of Johannesburg and Tshwane.
Speaking before Ramaphosa, Pityana told the capacity crowd in the 5 000-seat sports complex that he was disappointed Zuma was not present to listen to him.
“Let Stofile’s cry for the restoration of our movement to its former glory not be in vain,” Pityana said.
“Our setbacks are self-inflicted. We’ve ceded our moral high ground to our opponents.
“We say we are a party for the constitution … but many doubt it because we give them reason to do so.
“No less a person than the President of the country takes every opportunity to show nothing but disdain for the constitution,” Pityana added.
He compared Zuma’s controversial R200-million Nkandla home, saying it was an extravagance, with Stofile’s home – a “humble abode … not a palace in a sea of poverty”.
Stofile respected the laws and the courts of the country, Pityana said, recalling that when Stofile was accused of corruption he decided to take the report on judicial review – with a high court clearing him.
“That’s what you do when you respect public office … you don’t, when you’re called to account, plunge parliament into chaos … plunge constitutional bodies like the public protector into enemies of the people when they are not.
“When the Constitutional Court makes a finding that you broke your oath of office, what it means is that you are honourable no longer … it means you are untrustworthy,” Pityana said, in reference to Zuma.
Pityana described the ANC as a “movement in denial” which continued to blame a hostile media, Western forces and NGOs for its woes.
“Our movement is captured and the state is captured.
“The revolutionary movement is under threat.
“Under this leadership what we have experienced is a cataclysmic anticlimax … what we are seeing is unmitigated chaos … it’s time for new leadership,” he said.
If Zuma was at the funeral, said Pityana, “I would have asked him as my leader . . . begged him, pleaded with him, said ‘my big brother, hand over the reins, it is critical’.
“The next battle cannot be led by a leader who has humiliated our organisation and undermined everything that we represent,” he added.
Stofile’s brother-in-law and lawyer, Hintsa Siwisa, said Stofile’s children were never beneficiaries of state largesse.
“Both [Stofile’s daughters] never worked for government. They never feasted on the fruits of their father’s contribution to the struggle,” he said.
In response, Ramaphosa said that the ANC had heard the criticism from Pityana and Siwisa and would reflect on the issues raised.