To-do list from author Jacques

Simnikiwe Hlatshaneni

The President’s Keepers author Jacques Pauw says President Cyril Ramaphosa is going to have pick up the pieces of wreckage from the Zuma presidency – and he has his work cut out for him.

Pauw faced the full wrath of the law, threats of arrest and a litany of charges last year after publishing his book.

It was an account of years of allegations of a parallel intelligence network commanded by Zuma and operating under the auspices of the country’s law enforcement agencies. “I am sure now that all of the court action and police investigation and state security investigations against me are now going to disappear, because people like [SA Revenue Service commissioner] Tom Moyane and the rest have better, more urgent, things to think about at the moment,” he said.

In December, Moyane announced he was considering legal action against Pauw for tarnishing his image and integrity.

This followed a high court application by Sars, accusing Pauw of contravening the Tax Administration Act by disclosing confidential taxpayer information in the explosive book.

Zuma’s exit, the author said, was an emotional moment for him.

“It is clear that South Africans made a terrible mistake in electing Zuma,” said Pauw.

“As you have seen in the United States, voters do make mistakes, and we can learn lessons from our own experience.”

Referring to the deeply ingrained rot in several state institutions, including law enforcement agencies, Pauw said the first thing on the “to-do” list should be to bring back the scores of public officials who were axed after falling out of favour with Zuma in various ways.

“What we need is a fiercely independent Hawks, that is why we need Anwar Dramat, Shadrack Sibiya and the like.”

Ramaphosa has to get those people back, said Pauw. “Besides that, he has to replace the likes of Malusi Gigaba, Bathabile Dlamini and Mosebenzi Zwane.

“We need a lot of expertise back and very urgently. He has to fix Treasury and Sars, he has to bring back Pravin Gordhan. He has to bring back Ivan Pillay and people like this back into the fold.”