Shanti Aboobaker and Michelle Pietersen
WHILE there has been praise for President Jacob Zuma’s decisive action in axing two cabinet ministers and suspending the national police commissioner, opposition parties have said this is not enough and that legal action should be pursued against the three.
DA chairman Wilmot James and MP Debbie Schafer said they had met the Hawks and “signed the necessary documents” regarding a complaint against sacked public works minister Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde.
The president’s move to finally fire her was “the first step in the right direction, but the criminal investigation needs to be completed to bring this process to completion”, they said.
They wanted an “unfettered” investigation by the Hawks into suspended police chief General Bheki Cele.
DA MP James Lorimer called for crucial corrective actions that the public protector recommended in her report – that of recovering the money from axed co-operative governance and traditional affairs minister Sicelo Shiceka – to begin.
“This will send a strong message to all who handle public funds that they are accountable to the public.”
Dianne Kohler Barnard, also of the DA, questioned Zuma’s appointment of Major-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi as acting police commissioner, saying he was “relatively inexperienced”.
ID leader Patricia de Lille called for the terms of reference of the commission of inquiry into the arms deal to include the possibility of prosecuting individuals found to have been involved in corruption “if there is prima facie evidence implicating them”.
The cabinet reshuffle was also welcomed by unions, including Cosatu-affiliated unions the National Union of Mineworkers, the South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) and the Communication Workers Union.
Samwu, whose members have repeatedly blown the whistle on corruption in municipalities, said Zuma had “displayed his true leadership”.