Gupta taint hovers over Cyril
DEPUTY President Cyril Ramaphosa’s greatest political fear became reality this week when he became entangled in controversy over the state’s use of a Gupta family jet to fly him to Japan.
For months, Ramaphosa has been doing everything possible to avoid being tarred with the same brush as his fellow politicians who abuse state resources.
Ahead of his appointment as deputy president after last year’s elections, Ramaphosa — who is the frontrunner to succeed President Jacob Zuma in 2019 — carried out a number of security upgrades at his game farm in Bela Bela, Limpopo.
The deputy president and his office refused to comment at the time about the work, but sources close to the matter said Ramaphosa had not wanted a state-driven security upgrade that might “escalate to another Nkandla”.
Several government insiders said the deputy president, who made millions in business before returning to politics, often uses his own helicopter to visit the farm. And they said he employs his own personal security guards, both at his farm and at his private home.
Ramaphosa’s spokesman, Ronnie Mamoepa, yesterday confirmed that the deputy president “uses private resources when not on duty” but denied that he has private security at his residences.
But despite his efforts to avoid criticism over the abuse of taxpayers’ money, Ramaphosa became ensnared in a row this week over the private Bombardier aircraft in which he flew on his official visit to Japan.
Although Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula defended Ramaphosa, saying he would not have known from whom the private plane had been chartered, the controversy has the potential of associating him with the Guptas.
The family, who are in business with Zuma’s son Duduzane, have in the past been accused of using their proximity to the president to score business deals.
They have denied the claims on numerous occasions.
Political analyst Mcebisi Ndletyana said Mapisa-Nqakula’s assertion that Ramaphosa had nothing to do with choosing to use a Gupta plane was credible.
“Based on [Ramaphosa’s] past behaviour . . . avoiding impropriety, we can be certain that he had nothing to do with the selection of the flight,” said Ndletyana.
“The fact that they [the Department of Defence] arranged a Gupta flight confirms what we had suspected, that the Guptas are deeply entrenched in government. It shows that it’s quite difficult to avoid association with the Guptas in this government, and under this presidency.”
Ramaphosa’s aversion to using state resources is not without critics.
State security insiders say it concerns them that the deputy president sometimes travels on his own, without bodyguards.
“Sometimes he invites his friends over to his farm and they go hunting. Imagine the situation where everyone has a rifle in hand ... It’s a headache,” said a senior intelligence official with direct knowledge of the situation.
According to the source, members of the police presidential protection unit are sta- tioned only at the gate of the farm while private security guards patrol the rest of the property.
Moreover, Ramaphosa only uses his official residence, Oliver Tambo House in Pretoria, for state functions and spends much of his time at his private home in Johannesburg.
The defence force, which is responsible for flying him around, confirmed that Ramaphosa does use his personal helicopter.
Spokesman Siphiwe Dlamini said: “[Ramaphosa] lives in his own home. Is there a problem when he uses his own helicopter? He doesn’t live in a state house.”
Mamoepa denied that Ramaphosa’s use of private resources was an attempt to avoid scandal.
“This is about the prudent use of state resources to which the entire government has committed itself.
“When he’s off official duty, he uses his private resources. He uses his private chopper when he is on private duty . . .
“There is no requirement for him to stay at the Bryntirion estate [which belongs to the government]. But the state continues to provide security for him at his private residences. He has no private security,” Mamoepa said.
We can be certain that he had nothing to do with the selection of the flight