SA over Gupta saga

A VERY great friend of mine recently lent me some books, and by a strange coincidence I read Killing Kebble, An Underground Exposed by Mandy Wiener and followed this good read with We Have Now Begun Our Descent by Justice Malala.

Both books were very difficult to put down and were read well into the night. I finished both books within the week.

The remarkable coincidence is that these two very different books show corruption in South Africa is rife, in both the private sector and the public sector, and that the investigation and prosecution services are both in great need of upgrading and doing their jobs efficiently – urgently. Oakdene LAST week the portfolio committee for Home Affairs was supposed to meet the department to get them to explain why the Guptas were allowed into the country in exceptional circumstances and why Parliament had not been informed as per parliamentary rules. The minister and director-general had been “invited” to attend, but failed to pitch.Opposition party members of the portfolio committee wanted the director-general and both the current and previous minister (Malusi Gigaba) to be summoned to a rescheduled committee meeting to explain, but were overruled by the ineffectual Home Affairs committee chairperson, Lemias Mashile. He arranged to “invite” these people to attend. Well the director-general accepted the invitation, but needless to say the two ministers did not. In the circumstances one would have thought a summons would have been appropriate?

So in the meeting the DG explained why “exceptional” grounds existed for the department to permit the Guptas entry. He failed, obviously, to indicate that Jacob Zuma, in all likelihood, had issued Gigaba with an instruction to allow their entry. With regard to the million dollar question as to why Gigaba failed to inform Parliament about the exceptional circumstances the director-general had the gall to say that it was an “oversight” on the part of Gigaba and the decision was made with “no malice”.

We must believe this? The Guptas were brought in under the radar to pillage the country and Gigaba “forgot” to inform Parliament? And, wait for it, Mashile, the committee chairperson, accepted the explanation?

Just another useless, inept, delinquent, ANC member failing in his job. You are supposed to be providing effective oversight Mashile, not just conveniently going with the (ANC) flow. Or are you perhaps waiting for the Hawks, the Special Investigating Unit and/or the National Prosecuting Authority to take action?

I wouldn’t hold my breath. Hartbeespoort