Durban — Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula has defended president Cyril Ramaphosa after former South African presidents criticised him on Saturday.
Former heads of state Thabo Mbeki, Kgalema Motlanthe and Jacob Zuma addressed the nation and had harsh words to say about Ramaphosa, listing numerous failures regarding his administration and the levels of corruption.
Mbeki, who was speaking during an address at the annual general meeting of the Strategic Dialogue Group, reminded the ruling party that it did not enjoy the luxury of sweeping the Phala Phala farm matter under the carpet. Zuma called him a corrupt president.
Moreover, Mbalula has come guns blazing on his Twitter page and defended Ramaphosa, saying: “This must stop, hands off Ramaphosa.”
This must stop ✋️hands-off Ramaphosa .
He further said: “They all spoke yesterday, taking a swipe, and one directly attacking a sitting president of the ANC. We will not stand by and watch this act of ill-discipline, especially from elders.There are conventions in the movement.”
They all spoke yesterday taking a swipe and one directly attacking a sitting president of the Anc we will not standby and watch this act of ill discipline especially from elders.There are conventions in the movement. pic.twitter.com/MOgQnpQMZs
— FIKILE MBALULA | MR FIX (@MbalulaFikile) October 23, 2022
Mbeki said there remained a possibility that Ramaphosa could be found guilty by the panel in just under 30 days, as the panel was given 30 days to finalise its report into the matter, which will form the basis for Ramaphosa's impeachment process.
Zuma accused Ramaphosa of corruption and treason. He said it was unconstitutional for the current head of state to conduct private businesses while holding the high office of president. This was nothing but corruption, which was inconsistent with the nature of the office and the Constitution.
“It is inconsistent with the oath of office taken by the president and those who defend such deeds, both in the executive and the legislature, commit treason against our constitution. Suffice to say that your president has committed treason. No president should conduct private business while in office. Our country’s problems are too big for a president who is busy hustling on the side,” said Zuma.
Furthermore, the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal in a statement condemned the former heads of state for attacking Ramaphosa and the party publicly.
“While we respect our leaders’ rights, as enshrined in the Constitution, of the freedom of speech, we respectfully request our leaders to exercise restraint. We call upon leaders of our movement to use the right channel to raise whatever frustration they have with the ANC instead of attacking the ANC, its government and its leadership in public,” read the statement.
Daily News