Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Thursday he sees no reason why President Jacob Zuma would refuse to be subjected to the inquiry into state capture.
Ramaphosa was speaking to reporters from parliament’s Press Gallery Association in Cape Town on Thursday morning. As allegations of state capture continue to unravel before the public‚ more than one parliamentary committee has indicated an intention to call Zuma to answer questions on the matter.
Ramaphosa said state capture at various state-owned enterprises was being investigated and that all people called to make representations should come forward.
“I have gone public to say we want law enforcement agencies to investigate and conclude these matters. The NPA must work on these‚ and one expects and hopes that such a process is under way. I frankly can’t believe you can have wrongdoing on such a grand scale and not have any accountability‚” said Ramaphosa.
He said‚ while government processes do take a long time‚ it was important for as many people as possible to account to those heading investigations‚ as leaders of the past had done.
“The committee will have to decide whether the president should come before the committee and testify. Once they have decided so‚ a view needs to be taken. Nelson Mandela went to court as president and demonstrated that even if you are head of state‚ you should never be above the law‚” Ramaphosa said.
He even went as far as using himself as an example‚ saying that he testified before the Farlam Commission‚ which investigated the shooting of mine workers at Lonmin’s Marikana platinum mining operations in 2012.
“If the court subpoenas you‚ you should be willing to go. I went to the Farlam Commission and I was not absolved from going there to be held accountable. You should be willing to demonstrate that you are indeed willing to subject yourself to the norms and rules of society and go there‚” he said.
“I don’t know if the matter has gone‚ but we have been given great markers. Mandela went to court. He was grilled and in part it was humiliating. The president also appears before parliament. It’s a no-brainer‚ because if you do it at the highest level 400 people‚ but a committee only has about 20 people.”
Zuma must account to state capture inquiry‚ says Ramaphosa
Ramaphosa was speaking to reporters from parliament’s Press Gallery Association in Cape Town on Thursday morning. As allegations of state capture continue to unravel before the public‚ more than one parliamentary committee has indicated an intention to call Zuma to answer questions on the matter.
Ramaphosa said state capture at various state-owned enterprises was being investigated and that all people called to make representations should come forward.
“I have gone public to say we want law enforcement agencies to investigate and conclude these matters. The NPA must work on these‚ and one expects and hopes that such a process is under way. I frankly can’t believe you can have wrongdoing on such a grand scale and not have any accountability‚” said Ramaphosa.
He said‚ while government processes do take a long time‚ it was important for as many people as possible to account to those heading investigations‚ as leaders of the past had done.
“The committee will have to decide whether the president should come before the committee and testify. Once they have decided so‚ a view needs to be taken. Nelson Mandela went to court as president and demonstrated that even if you are head of state‚ you should never be above the law‚” Ramaphosa said.
He even went as far as using himself as an example‚ saying that he testified before the Farlam Commission‚ which investigated the shooting of mine workers at Lonmin’s Marikana platinum mining operations in 2012.
“If the court subpoenas you‚ you should be willing to go. I went to the Farlam Commission and I was not absolved from going there to be held accountable. You should be willing to demonstrate that you are indeed willing to subject yourself to the norms and rules of society and go there‚” he said.
“I don’t know if the matter has gone‚ but we have been given great markers. Mandela went to court. He was grilled and in part it was humiliating. The president also appears before parliament. It’s a no-brainer‚ because if you do it at the highest level 400 people‚ but a committee only has about 20 people.”
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