No ‘Team SA’: Analysts say the business community’s trust in President Jacob Zuma’s government is at an all-time low.
President Jacob Zuma recently said he doesn’t know why he should resign, nobody told him what he did wrong.
Well, the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) took it upon itself to tell him in a vast document that they will deliver to all MPs before the vote of no confidence against Zuma.
The organisation announced their plan on Wednesday morning to hold Zuma accountable.
“We believe the momentum is swinging very fast against Jacob Zuma,” said Wayne Duvenage, CEO of OUTA. “We believe his kitchen is on fire and the heat is getting too much for him and the other cronies.”
In April this year, after Zuma survived scandal after scandal, OUTA started to compile a “case to expose the reality and extent of Zuma’s conduct and connection to state capture”.
‘Sufficient evidence’
They believe this document “provides those in positions of authority with sufficient evidence for justifying the removal of Zuma as President of South Africa”.
“Minister Gordhan asked us to connect the dots. We believe we have connected the dots,” said OUTA chief operating officer Ben Theron.
They presented their report to Parliament on Wednesday and believed opposition MPs would ensure that it be tabled and discussed in Parliament ahead of the vote of no confidence that should be scheduled soon.
They will provide copies to all the party whips.
According to the accompanying press release, OUTA views the forthcoming vote of no confidence as affording the National Assembly and its members the opportunity to “reassert the supremacy of the Constitution in the face of a president who has repeatedly violated the Constitution”.
“Prior to the ‘Gupta emails’, the case for removing President Zuma was overwhelming. Since the emergence of the ‘Gupta emails’, it is unanswerable. The National Assembly and its members would be failing in their Constitutional obligation if they did not vote to remove President Zuma from Office in the vote of no confidence,” reads the release.
The document will also be presented to the ANC NEC, the Hawks, the minister of police, the National Prosecuting Authority and the Public Protector.
“It is not a hearsay document. It is not a thumb suck. The proof is there, all we want is for MPs to read it, digest it.”
‘Findings’
As a last resort, OUTA will go to the Constitutional Court.
The report’s main “findings” against Zuma are that he:
- Allowed himself to be influenced in his appointment of Cabinet members;
- Appointed poorly qualified and incompetent individuals in decision-making positions (and retained them when he had ample reason and opportunity to remove them);
- Allowed corrupt individuals to benefit from state coffers or failed to institute action when he became aware of such conduct;
- Mismanaged his Cabinet in a manner that has had a detrimental effect on the country and the economy;
- Used or manipulated state resources or appointments to avoid prosecution for at least 783 charges;
- Wilfully and maliciously lied or misled Parliament and the nation; and
- Abused his position to enrich himself, his family, his friends and his cronies. – News24