By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen wants action to be taken against Deputy President Paul Mashatile following corruption allegations levelled against him.
The party visited the Union Buildings on Wednesday morning to submit a “comprehensive docket” containing corruption allegations against Mashatile to president Cyril Ramaphosa.
This comes after News24’s explosive report several months ago, alleging that Mashatile had corrupt relationships with businesspeople who benefitted from state tenders.
Steenhuisen said if Ramaphosa fails to act against Mashatile, he will be in violation of the Prevention and Combatting of Corrupt Activities Act, the Public Finance Management Act, and the Executive Members’ Ethics Act.
“Given that President Ramaphosa has, to this day, failed to act against Mashatile by firing him from his executive post and subjecting him to a thorough investigation by the Special Investigating Unit, it is clear that President Ramaphosa has absolutely no will to address this scandal within his government.
“With this dossier now in hand, President Ramaphosa can no longer claim ignorance that his ‘Number Two’ is heading a state capture scheme the likes of which was last seen under Jacob Zuma.”
The party has given Ramaphosa until Wednesday next week to take action.
“We will lay criminal charges against Mashatile, using the information collated in the dossier of which President Ramaphosa is now in possession, to make the case for Mashatile’s immediate investigation and prosecution, and we will file an Executive Members’ Ethics Act complaint against Mashatile for his violation of the Executive Ethics Code.
“In all of our submissions to law enforcement, we will highlight the fact that Ramaphosa is now personally in possession of the dossier against Mashatile, and that his failure to act potentially implicates him in the corruption racket.”
Steenhuisen said Friday’s move is the start of a “sustained campaign” to hold both Ramaphosa and Mashatile accountable.
He dismissed allegations that the party’s dossier accusing Mashatile of corruption is a political stunt ahead of this year’s elections.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines, he said he believed their accusations would stand in a court of law.
Steenhuisen remained adamant that the allegations contained in the docket were true and needed to be attended to urgently by Ramaphosa, under whom he said corruption had worsened.
Likening the situation to that of Zuma, who served as Deputy President during Thabo Mbeki’s tenure, he called on the incumbent government to handle Mashatile’s case with the same seriousness.
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Video Courtesy of DA.