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Today, the Democratic Alliance (DA) handed over a dossier with an accompanying letter detailing damning allegations of corruption levelled against Deputy President, Paul Mashatile, to the Office of President Cyril Ramaphosa at the Union Buildings. 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 (SIU), it is clear that President Ramaphosa has absolutely no will to address this scandal within his government.

Over the past few months, a series of explosive exposés have been published by numerous investigative journalists outlining, in granular detail, the extent to which Paul Mashatile engaged in a web of corruption and state capture spanning almost two decades - behaviour that has become commonplace under the ANC. These would constitute clear violations of the Prevention and Combatting of Corrupt Activities Act, the Public Finance Management Act, and the Executive Members’ Ethics Act. 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.

Had President Ramaphosa carried out the lifestyle audits of his executive, as promised in his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) at the beginning of his term, all of these alleged corrupt dealings would have come to light across his cabinet. Five years later, the South African national executive is still comprised of numerous ministers facing severe allegations of corruption, with Paul Mashatile now the single most compromised. Yet another broken promise from a bystander president for which there have been no consequences.

With the opening of parliament scheduled for the coming week, we have now provided President Ramaphosa will all the information necessary to remove Paul Mashatile from Executive Office. South Africa cannot be presided over by a Deputy President whose corruption allegations are piling up by the day. Should President Ramaphosa fail to announce this crucial removal from his cabinet in his State of the Nation Address (SONA), the DA will pursue the following:

We will lay criminal charges against Paul 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. This set of actions represent but the start of what will be a sustained campaign to hold both Ramaphosa and Mashatile accountable. The DA will continue to fight this corruption using every channel at our disposal.

Just this week, South Africa plummeted to its lowest-ever ranking on the global Corruption Perceptions Index, confirming that corruption is even worse under Ramaphosa than it was under Zuma. It is precisely President Ramaphosa’s paralysis regarding the illegal actions of his cabinet members and ANC cadres that continues to hollow out South Africa’s public service and chip away at investor and public confidence in our government. If a fish rots from the head down, then President Ramaphosa clearly sees it fit to preside over a corrupt government with a rotten Deputy.

South Africans have learnt from painful experience that Ramaphosa lacks the courage to do the right thing. That is why the DA will now step up to lead by intensifying our campaign for Mashatile to be held accountable via other avenues. But the fastest solution to the scourge of endemic corruption in South Africa under the ANC, is to vote the governing party out.

This is why it is crucial for all South Africans to register to vote on the 3rd and 4th of February this weekend to be able to cast their votes for a new, corruption-free government in this year’s General Elections. We cannot continue as a country to normalise corruption under the ANC. The DA will ensure that those who continue to perpetrate this crime against each and every South African citizen, will be held to account.

Issued by John Steenhuisen MP - Leader of the Democratic Alliance