President Cyril Ramaphosa. Picture: Itumeleng English / Independent Newspapers
ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba, African Transformation Movement (ATM) counterpart Vuyo Zungula and the DA’s John Steenhuisen have blamed President Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration for the country’s rise as one of the most corrupt countries in the world.
This comes after South Africa posted a 12-year decline in the latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI).
Mashaba, in a statement on Wednesday, put the blame squarely on Ramaphosa’s administration, saying this decline highlights how the country’s anti-corruption efforts have regressed under Ramaphosa.
Mashaba said as such, the ANC under Ramaphosa needs to be replaced in the upcoming elections.
“Despite the president and the ruling party’s promises, Ramaphosa has simply failed to act against corruption and has, instead, found himself complicit in corruption through the Phala Phala dollars found ‘under his mattress’, allowing for porous borders and bribes at the Higher Education Department.
“His government spent over R1 billion on the Zondo Commission, but, to date, has failed to prosecute State Capture crimes. This is the legacy voters should judge Ramaphosa and the ruling party on when they head to the polls this year,” Mashaba said.
His ATM counterpart has indicated that it is disappointed and highly concerned by the 2023 Corruption Perception Index report.
Zungula said, “The report’s revelation that South Africa is now among the 23 countries reaching their lowest ever scores, categorising them as ‘flawed democracies’, is a harsh reality check. The ATM contends that President Ramaphosa’s administration has fallen short in delivering on its commitment to combat corruption with effective measures and insufficient political will to bring about genuine change, and this report serves as a stark indictment on the current state of corruption in South Africa, revealing a distressing truth that corruption has now worsened compared to the Zuma administration.”
The report comes just as Ramaphosa addressed the more than 80 National Executive Committee (NEC) members gathered at the Birchwood Hotel where the ANC spent a week deliberating on issues affecting the country ahead of the elections.
Ramaphosa said in spite of the many challenges in the past 30 years, the ANC has done well in some key areas, including dealing with state capture and corruption.
Speaking to Newzroom Afrika, Ramaphosa said the first five years of his tenure had been years of recovery from state capture and corruption.
“The past five years have been years of recovery and rebuilding and also renewal. One of those was of course state capture. We have stopped state capture in its tracks. SARS have been captured. Attempts were made to capture treasury. This was stopped. Entities such as Eskom were captured. We have stopped state capture and we have regained control of those, and we are rebuilding them and that must be seen in good light,” he said.
Leader of the DA John Steenhuisen said Ramaphosa should be held directly responsible for the endemic corruption that has beset the country under his leadership.
He said the latest annual CPI confirms what South Africans have come to know under Ramaphosa’s term of office: that his administration is more corrupt than that of his predecessor, Jacob Zuma.
“According to the rankings, the endemic corruption of the Ramaphosa administration has reduced our country to a ‘flawed democracy’. Ramaphosa is directly and personally responsible for South Africa’s plunge on the rankings.
“This crisis of corruption, which is having a severely negative impact on investment and job creation, is epitomised by the latest scandal involving Paul Mashatile, the deputy president of the country, who serves solely at the discretion of Ramaphosa,” Steenhuisen said.
The Star
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