President’s office mum on Manana

‘IT ALL DEPENDS ON THE DEPUTY MINISTER’ Party has indicated he would have to face disciplinary hearing.

President Jacob Zuma’s office won’t say whether Deputy Higher Education Minister Mduduzi Manana’s job is on the line after he admitting hitting a woman at a nightclub two weeks ago.

The Citizen asked the Presidency four days ago whether Manana would be suspended or fired. We have not had an answer.

Yesterday, Communications Minister Ayanda Dlodlo indicated it was up to Zuma’s office whether Manana was fired or not. But despite that, an audibly annoyed spokesperson for the president, Bongani Ngqulunga, dodged the questions, asking why the media thought it was up to the president’s office to do something about the deputy minister.

Dlodlo indicated that Cabinet was “disappointed” by Manana’s actions but she said the matter was not on the Cabinet’s agenda.

“We did not discuss whether he should step down or not step down, whether he should be fired … that resides within the ambit of the work of the president of the republic. But it all depends on Manana himself, the course of action he would want to take in dealing with this matter.”

Police Minister Fikile Mbalula recently said that if it were him, he would have resigned immediately.

“If a woman comes and says ‘Mbalula you have raped me’, even if that woman could be a liar, I should say on my own that because I’ve got such a big accusation against me, I would decide to step aside. I don’t have to wait for the president to tell me ‘hey man, step down’. I must just do it on my own,” he said, speaking at an event in Johannesburg yesterday.

Mbalula had earlier spoken out against acts of violence against women, saying: “Each slap in the face is a potential femicide.” Meanwhile, Manana was awaiting a disciplinary process after a decision by the ANC’s national working committee. While he was not a serving leader in ANC structure, the party indicated he would be subjected to a disciplinary hearing.

Manana will appear in court again on September 13.

Each slap in the face a potential femicide.

Picture: Gallo Images OFF THE HOOK? Government is apparently not acting against Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training Mduduzi Manana after an attack on a woman recently.