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- President Cyril Ramaphosa has promised that there will be no political interference in South Africa’s law enforcement agencies.
- Ace Magashule supporters have been pushing a narrative to discredit law enforcement agencies.
- Ramaphosa told a joint session of Parliament: “Decisive action against crime and corruption is essential for inclusive growth.”
President Cyril Ramaphosa has promised that there will be no interference in South Africa’s law enforcement agencies as the crackdown on corruption continues.
In doing so, the president is offering a narrative against the camp of ANC secretary general Ace Magashule, which has been maneuvering to discredit law enforcement.
On Thursday he addressed a joint session of Parliament on his administration’s economic recovery and reconstruction plan after the devastation of an already sick economy from the Covid-19 pandemic.
READ | Ramaphosa Economic Bailout Plan: Key Announcements
“Decisive action against crime and corruption is essential for inclusive growth,” Ramaphosa said.
“Criminal elements in our country have dedicated themselves to the illegal occupation of construction sites and to request protection money from companies.”
When he referred to “criminal elements,” someone at the district attorney’s benches snapped, “Ace.”
He said that to combat the practice of illegal occupation of construction sites, a Joint Rapid Response Team at the national and provincial level will respond to the problem of violent disruptions at construction sites and other commercial activities.
READ | Bonang Mgwenya, Chief Police Officer Charged with Corruption, Suspended
News24 understands that a senior police officer has been appointed to lead this team.
Ramaphosa added that “a well-functioning revenue service is critical to our economic recovery program.”
READ | The hawks know nothing about Magashule’s ‘arrest warrant’
“The change in the South African Revenue Service has started in earnest and significant areas of tax evasion and fraud have already been identified.
“SARS is rebuilding its ability to reverse the decline, improve compliance and recoup lost tax revenue.
“We are working to clamp down on the illegal economy and illicit financial flows, including transfer pricing abuse, profit transfer, VAT and customs duty fraud, under-invoicing of imports of manufactured goods, corruption and others. illegal schemes “.
Ramaphosa said that “decisive action” taken to prevent, detect and act against Covid-related corruption will strengthen the broader fight against crime.
“The Special Investigation Unit (SIU) has made significant progress in investigating allegations of criminal conduct in all public entities during the state of national disaster.”
He said SIU’s work continues and the results of its investigations will be made public once all due processes have been completed.
“Yes, it will also continue in Parliament if you want,” he said good-naturedly, in apparent response to a comment from a DA deputy.
“There will be a lot of openings,” said Deputy District Attorney Geordin Hill-Lewis.
Fortified
Ramaphosa said law enforcement agencies are being strengthened and provided with adequate resources to allow for the identification and speedy prosecution of corruption and fraud. However, he did not go into details.
Last week, the National Director of Public Proceedings, Shamila Batohi, spoke before Parliament against the proposed budget cuts, which would reverse the progress made in the fight against corruption.
“We wish to assure all South Africans that there will be no political interference with the work of law enforcement agencies,” Ramaphosa said, adding that he will ensure that there is no political interference.
READ | Hawkhead: ‘We have never received instructions from anyone’
Magashule has been on the radar of law enforcement agencies due to persistent allegations of his ties to corruption in the Free State, where he served as prime minister from 2009 to 2018, when he took office at Luthuli House after the 2017 Nasrec conference of the ANC.
Two weeks ago, the Hawks, with the help of the National Tax Authority (NPA) and SIU, made groundbreaking arrests in connection with the R255 million asbestos deal in the province. They arrested seven people, including businessman Edwin Sodi and former Mangaung mayor Olly Mlamleli.
Mlamleli is known as an ally of Magashule.
Magashule is alleged to have participated in the deal.
Similarly, he is allegedly involved in the Estina dairy farm corruption scandal, which saw hundreds of millions of rand stolen from state coffers as part of the Guptas’ state capture project.
News24 reported that Magashule and his allies have called his alleged imminent arrest “nothing but political.”
Last week, Magashule supporters reportedly leaked that he will soon be arrested by the Hawks.
The Hawks have denied it.
Then over the weekend, it emerged that he wrote to the NPA.
“We are told that you are planning a media show when you make our client’s arrest. Our client should not be singled out for arrest for no reason, as you plan to do. Nor should he be humiliated, as we understand you are planning to do,” it said Magashule’s legal counsel letter, cited by City Press.
