State capture probe ‘whitewash’
SACP SLAMS RULING PARTY DECISION TO DROP INVESTIGATION
THE conflict between the SACP and the ANC took a turn for the worse yesterday after the SACP branded the ruling party’s decision to drop the probe into “state capture” a whitewash.
And in what could further aggravate tension between the tripartite alliance members, the SACP also rubbished the ANC’s decision as “the work of a faction that has rendered the ruling party’s national executive committee (NEC) useless”.
The SACP also ratcheted up the pressure on President Jacob Zuma, calling on him to personally condemn the socalled Premier League lobby group that comprises the premiers of North West (Supra Mahumapelo), Free State (Ace Magashule) and Mpumalanga (David Mabuza).
The SACP was scathing of the ANC when it briefed the media in Johannesburg yesterday. SACP second deputy general secretary Solly Mapaila said the ANC investigation into the alleged state capture by the politically connected Gupta family was incomplete and “the ANC must accept that”.
The SACP has also lodged a complaint with the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks) against the unit’s head, Berning Ntlemeza, who the party accused of using the crime-fighting agency to wage political battles.
The SACP accused Ntlemeza of targeting Finance Minster Pravin Gordhan by threatening to investigate him for the role he played in setting up the so-called rogue unit during his tenure as Sars boss.
On Tuesday, ANC secretarygeneral Gwede Mantashe said the ANC investigation into the allegations of state capture by the Guptas, who are Zuma’s personal friends, became a fruitless exercise after only one person out of eight complainants was prepared to give a written submission.
However, Mapaila said the debate on the matter was far from over and the party would discuss the matter at its central committee meeting at the weekend.
Mapaila was adamant the investigation couldn’t be closed as the “tripartite alliance had a responsibility to stop corporate capture”.
“There can be no denials about the existence of corporate capture. The bottom line is: corporate capture does exist and it’s creating problems.
“State capture is real and alive and we will continue fighting it. Those who say it doesn’t exist, I don’t know where they live. If the movement is behaving like this, it will be punished by the people.”
The SACP called for a judicial commission of inquiry into the allegations.
He then switched to the factional battles within the ANC, saying they had become divisive. “We won’t allow factions to appropriate the ANC, it’s our organisation. I’m really getting too worried about the factionalising of the NEC. Factional statements come out in the name of the ANC. The ANC leadership must condemn factions,” said Mapaila.
Pulling no punches, Mapaila said the social ills of corruption, state capture and looting of state resources were being justified by factions within the ANC.
“This is where we are drawing the battle lines. We can’t be in alliance with factions. The movement must cleanse itself… must be frank and candid, deal with these issues.
“I’m yet to see a day where the president has condemned the Premier League… It’s a faction that’s been named, why can’t it be condemned? Confront this faction.”
The premiers, who are also ANC provincial chairpersons, are accused of influencing the outcomes of the elective conferences of structures of the ruling party.
ANC national spokesperson Zizi Kodwa seemed undeterred by the SACP’s accusations.
“The alliance partners exist independently of one another. In their own right, they can make political observations, assessments and interpretations on anything.
“We are not obliged to respond to anything that the alliance raises.”
The ANC would have preferred if the SACP had requested “a bilateral” meeting with the ANC.
THE most famous chapter in diplomat and political theorist Niccolo Machiavelli’s 16th-century political treatise The Prince considers whether it is better to be loved than feared – if you cannot be both.
The conclusion appears to be that, as fear is more predictable, it doesn’t hold the same fickleness as love. With fear, you can remain the same, never mind the circumstances raging around you. Oftrepeated, Machiavelli writes:
“The answer is that one would like to be both the one and the other; but because it is difficult to combine them, it is far safer to be feared than loved.”
As we listened to ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe at Luthuli House on Tuesday afternoon, there was a discomfiting reminder of this classic work, as it seems President Jacob Zuma might indeed fit the Machiavellian accusation which some of his enemies have levelled at him. Indeed, our long-serving liberation movement seems to be well within his clutches.
When Mantashe effectively told the nation to get over the president’s scandals, as “we accept (his) apology”, and showed his own lack of theoretical capacity in saying that the ANC’s “good work” should be rated by the rating agencies, a chill might have run down the collective spine.
Certainly, we take into account that Mantashe warned ANC structures not to fall into contempt of court by assisting Zuma to pay what he owes on Nkandla, but for much of the rest, it is clear that his party boss has the current national executive committee under his control.
We’d almost prefer to believe this is because the party is under considerable pressure around the upcoming municipal elections, and that it must present a picture of unity in order to maintain its dominance. In the interests of political power, it must seem to be rallying behind a man who many find repugnant.
But it could also be true that there are still far too many secrets lurking within the Zuma circle which need to be preserved, even at the nation’s expense.