Ramaphosa promises new measures to fight corruption while his image remains suspect

Oct. 24 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The president of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, has announced a new political reform plan to combat corruption in response to the conclusions presented by the judicial commission that has been in charge in recent years of investigating the scandals of the previous government, led by Jacob Zuma .

“The people of South Africa are tired of corruption,” emphasized the South African president, who has pledged to review and redesign the country’s anti-corruption legislation in an attempt to combat this problem in “all its forms, in every part of government and in every sphere of the state.

Ramaphosa’s promises come a day after the commission led by Chief Justice Raymond Zondo presented a 76-page four-year report to Parliament exposing widespread corruption practices during Zuma’s government.

Among the novelties that Ramaphosa has advanced are new laws that prohibit, for example, ministers from participating in contracting within state companies, as well as others that regulate the issuance of public contracts, and guarantee that whistleblowers are better protected.

According to the conclusions presented by Zondo, more than 300 witnesses have not only confirmed cases of corruption, but have also described how state companies and local government coffers were looted by political allies of former President Zuma, who was aware of it.

Most of these recommendations are directed at the security forces, who are being asked to investigate some 200 people. Among those requested to be charged with corruption are the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe, and the Deputy Minister of State Security, Zizi Kodwa, for receiving bribes from companies in exchange for public contracts.

Ramaphosa has already warned that this corruption could have caused perjury to the state coffers valued at 500,000 million rand (about 27,700 million euros). However, Zondo has repeatedly reproached him for not having done enough to fight corruption when he worked for Zuma.

Zondo has also proposed to the government to form a permanent anti-corruption commission, as well as an independent agency in charge of public procurement, as well as a change in the electoral system so that the president is elected through direct suffrage.

UNDER INVESTIGATION

Ramaphosa, who has promised to analyze “one by one” the cases in which people from his Executive are involved, continues to be the main favorite to assume the leadership of his party, the African National Congress, although his image continues to be questioned due to possible irregularities.

A few days ago, investigations began by a commission of jurists into the accusations against Ramaphosa following a robbery he suffered in June 2020 on one of his rural farms located in the north of the country.

He is accused of failing to properly report the theft in an attempt to allegedly hide almost 4 million euros from the sale of animals, thus contravening the Constitution that prohibits members of the Government from carrying out other paid professional work.

This panel of jurists has thirty days to determine if the motion filed by the minority opposition party African Transformation Movement has grounds to initiate impeachment proceedings against him.