/ MEDIA STATEMENT / The content on this page is not written by Polity.org.za, but is supplied by third parties. This content does not constitute news reporting by Polity.org.za.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) challenges President Cyril Ramaphosa to come out of hiding and take urgent action over serious allegations of corruption and capture against his Deputy President, Paul Mashatile, who serves solely at the discretion of Ramaphosa.

We demand that Ramaphosa fire Mashatile and direct the Special Investigating Unit to launch an urgent investigation into damning allegations of corruption and capture involving his “Number Two.”

The DA issues this call because, as corruption allegations have piled up against Mashatile in recent months, Ramaphosa has chosen to do what he always does when the people expect him to lead: he took the coward’s way out. Just like he did when the NSFAS corruption scandal broke around Minister Blade Nzimande a few weeks ago, Ramaphosa has again gone into hiding from difficult questions over his appointment and ongoing protection of Mashatile.

It is a clear pattern with Ramaphosa: instead of leading, he chooses to cower in the hopes that his ANC government’s scandals will simply blow over. Just as in the case of Nzimande, the ANC has only made some mealy-mouthed comments about Mashatile appearing before the the party’s misnamed “Integrity Committee.” But the Constitution and the oath of office Ramaphosa took means this is simply not good enough.

The Deputy President of the country, who is appointed by Ramaphosa, stands accused of grave acts of abuse of power and state capture.

Anything less than decisive action will render Ramaphosa complicit.

If Ramaphosa cannot even act against capture and corruption perpetrated from inside the very same Union Buildings that he occupies, then why is he even there? Now that the people of South Africa know that his “New Dawn” has been exposed for the empty lie that it always was, it is time for us to ask: what even is the point of Cyril Ramaphosa?

Last week, it was revealed that during Mashatile’s tenure as MEC for Human Settlements in Gauteng, his department paid R134 million to a company owned by ANC donor Edwin Sodi for a housing project in Diepsloot that did not deliver a single house.

This was one part out of a total of R828 million that was paid to Sodi by the department for various supposed projects.

It was also previously revealed that Mashatile used Sodi’s luxury mansion on the Atlantic Seaboard in Cape Town on several occasions.

This is in addition to millions of Rands in loans granted by the Gauteng provincial government to a company owned by Nceba Nonkwelo, Mashatile’s son-in-law. In turn, proceeds were funneled to another company that owns a R37 million mansion in Waterfall Estate where Mashatile had been living. A forensic audit launched following the revelations confirmed that the awarding of loans to Nonkwelo violated the Public Finance Management Act.

The evidence strongly suggests that Mashatile is engaged in a web of corruption and state capture that potentially even exceeds similar misdeeds perpetrated during the era of Jacob Zuma. During his testimony before the State Capture Commission, Ramaphosa promised that such crimes would not be repeated. However, by turning a blind eye to Mashatile’s corruption, he has not only broken that promise, but he has also enabled Mashatile.

The DA gives Cyril Ramaphosa until Thursday, 1 February to come out of hiding and take action against Mashatile. If he fails to do so, the DA will again step in to lead while Ramaphosa cowers. We have prepared a comprehensive docket detailing the web of corruption that Mashatile has weaved. Further action will follow against both Ramaphosa and Mashatile if the President continues to cower.

Issued by John Steenhuisen MP - Leader of the Democratic Alliance