Daily Dispatch
Restore Tata Madiba’s legacy
On Wednesday the country commemorated four years since the passing of South Africa’s first democratically elected President Nelson Mandela.
The main events were held in Johannesburg and in Mthatha.
The main speaker at the Johannesburg event was United Democratic Movement (UDM) leader Bantu Holomisa – the very man who was expelled by Mandela from the ANC.
But Holomisa’s admiration and respect for our late former statesman never diminished despite their earlier differences.
Instead he grew to appreciate him more. This is because Mandela was a forthright leader – one who was never shy to take unpopular decisions. When the ANC NEC pushed for Holomisa’s expulsion, over his public disclosure of corruption in the former Transkei homeland involving the late Stella Sigcau, Mandela had to be a leader and implement the decision. Such was the character of Madiba. He understood that leadership was more than a mere title conferred upon one. In the much publicised TV interview of 1990, with Ted Koppel, Mandela said of a leader: “Any man who changes his principles according to whom he is dealing, that is not a man who can lead a nation”.
And not even once did Mandela betray his principles. In fact, having Holomisa deliver the keynote address at the function organised by the Nelson Mandela Foundation was testimony of Madiba’s allure.
Speaking at the event Holomisa’s message was centred on corruption and the looting of state resources.
He said state capture and the rampant looting of state coffers were an insult to Madiba. “State capture must not only be pushed into retreat‚ but must be defeated once and for all. Those who are captured should be charged‚ prosecuted and convicted. If we don’t do so‚ Madiba’s legacy will be in jeopardy‚” he said.
Holomisa also dealt with the public protector’s report, which confirmed stories written by this newspaper in 2014, that millions in public funds intended for memorial services and the funeral of Mandela were misappropriated by certain individuals, including Eastern Cape politicians and government officials. The bulk of the money was R330-million that was diverted from an infrastructure grant.
Said Holomisa: “It is difficult to comprehend how some people stooped so low by stealing funds allocated to give Madiba a dignified farewell … This goes beyond commonplace corruption. It is not only immoral‚ but evil”. No one could have said it better. Speaking on the sidelines of the Mthatha event, premier Phumulo Masualle disputed the claim that R330-million was misused, saying that the correct figure was R22-million. “It is factually not so that R300-million was spent. It was a portion of that, because that amount of money was an amount dedicated for a specific purpose. It’s the figure of R22-million that the [Eastern Cape Development Corporation] spent in that regard,” he said.
This is why the investigation into the looting of the Mandela funeral funds must happen without delay, so that we can get to the bottom of the matter.