Zuma must stop SOEs flouting law

South Africans can only hope it has dawned on President Jacob Zuma the damage being done to the country by the chaos within government departments and stateowned enterprises.

Yesterday Zuma and Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan sat side-by-side in what was described as “a show of scripted solidarity” at a press conference after meeting business leaders. They both emphasised the need to work together to address our economic problems. Zuma urged politicians, business leaders, the public and the media to be more positive about South Africa.

After the High Court in Pretoria ruled on Thursday that deputy national director of prosecutions Nomgcobo Jiba and senior NPA executive Lawrence Mrwebi had brought the NPA and legal profession into disrepute by failing to prosecute former police crime intelligence head Richard Mdluli, they were placed on special leave. The court said they should have stood “firm and vigorous” and persisted with their prosecution of Mdluli on fraud and corruption charges.

A day earlier the Sars Commissioner, Tom Moyane, suspended his number two, Jonas Makwakwa, who allegedly received “suspicious and unusual payments” to the tune of R1.2 million between 2010 and 2016, after pressure from MPs and the media and complaints about why he had sat on the information instead of laying criminal charges.

On the negative side is the warning by rating agency Moody’s that it could cut the investment grades of state entities Eskom, Sanral, the Industrial Development Corporation, the Development Bank of Southern Africa and the Land Bank. Given concerns about governance and corruption, Moody’s is worried about their capacity to raise loans.

Zuma must put his own interests aside and give Gordhan support in trying to stop state entities flouting the law and wasting money.