The entire cabinet should be held responsible for one of the worst crimes against the people of SA perpetrated by President Jacob Zuma and the Gupta family‚ says former ANC treasurer Mathews Phosa.
Image by: Simphiwe Nkwali
He says there also needs to be an urgent change in leadership of the Department of Mineral Resources‚ which takes “painfully long” to issue licences‚ affecting investment appetite.
Phosa‚ who says he is willing to run for presidency of the African National Congress‚ spared no one in his opening address at the Junior Indaba for mining companies‚ saying ruling parliamentarians should vote in favour of the pending motion of no confidence in Zuma‚ who is embroiled in a growing political and corruption scandal along with an increasing number of senior politicians.
The slow pace at which the department was dealing with approving mining and prospecting rights was chasing away investment in the sector‚ he said‚ pointing out he was a consultant to companies in the industry.
The time to secure a water use licence was also a “big headache‚” he said. Jacinto Rocha‚ a former deputy director general in the department‚ told the conference the fact no department officials were in attendance attested to the poor relationship that existed between the regulator and the industry.
The bulk of Phosa’s speech was about his view of the political issues that are dominating headlines‚ dragging name after name of senior politicians and heads of state owned enterprises into the scandals involving the Gupta family exerting improper influence on many spheres of government for monetary gain and power.
“After apartheid‚ Zuma and Guptas are the worst crime against the people of SA‚” Phosa said. “What we have seen under this presidency is radical economy looting.” In his view‚ the only branch of government working effectively and giving people hope that all was not lost was the judiciary.
“The executive under president has long ceased to understand their sworn duty to uplift the poorest of poor‚” he said. “I do not exclude a single member‚ minister or deputy minister.”
He said he stood by his recent comment that the “president has raped the economy” and extended the analogy to the entire executive of the ANC‚ which he said shared joint collective responsibility for the damage to the economy and “the rape of the interests of poor.”
