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- The IFP says that the ANC’s mistake in allowing a party delegation to fly to Zimbabwe on an air force plane has shown, once again, that it cannot separate the party from the state.
- In an open letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa, national spokesman Mkhuleko Hlengwa said that the merger of party and state destroyed democracy.
- The ANC announced this week that it would reimburse the government for the trip.
The ANC’s trip to Zimbabwe on a defense forces plane has sent a clear message to the public that the party and the state are inseparable.
That’s according to IFP national spokesperson and MP Mkhuleko Hlengwa, who said, in an open letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa, that the fundamental constitutional crisis of merging party and state did not require a financial solution.
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“It takes a bold presidential leadership to carry out consequence management and a severe presidential reprimand to set the tone that this is totally unacceptable and inconsistent with the Constitution that, in general, you, Mr. President, were a midwife of our democracy, “he said.
The letter follows the ANC’s decision to reimburse the government for travel to Zimbabwe on an air force plane.
Opposition parties criticized the ANC after Defense and Military Veterans Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula admitted that it led an ANC delegation. The delegation was heading to Zimbabwe to meet with Zanu-PF leaders.
Ramaphosa also wrote to Mapisa-Nqakula on Friday and demanded a reply within 48 hours. He has yet to comment on the report.
Hlengwa, who is also the chairman of the Parliament’s Standing Committee on Accounts (Scopa), said the continued merger of party and state shattered democracy, the rule of law and efforts to crack down on corruption.
READ HERE | ANC trip to Zimbabwe: Ramaphosa enters the fray, demands Mapisa-Nqakula report in 48 hours
“It is, once again, another case of déjà vu. Yet another incident in which the ANC members are above the rule of law and cannot be held accountable. The ‘Animal Farm Syndrome’, where all parties politicians are equal but some are more equal than others, it is in direct conflict with the Constitution and moves against multiparty democracy, “said Hlengwa.
He added that, in any normal and functional democracy, Mapisa-Nqakula would have already resigned.
“The only plausible explanation is that it is the national executive committee of the ANC – of which you are a part – that decided to send a delegation of ANC members together with the minister, Mapisa-Nqakula, using resources financed by the State; as up to It is now unclear why the bilateral meetings of the ANC and ZANU-PF or that of the ministers did not take place virtually The official government trip was correctly timed to coincide with the trip of the ANC delegation; and it was you, Mr. President, who approved the minister’s trip, as well as being part of the ANC’s decision to send a delegation at the same time. ”
He said:
“The irony and timing of events cannot be lost. The conditions for a perfect storm were created.”
Hlengwa also said that it was not the first time that Mapisa-Nqakula had transgressed.
“No explanation given by the minister regarding the ‘promotion’ she gave the ANC can justify the continued and deliberate failure to separate party and state. The coincidence of the trip is too obvious to be considered a ‘lift’. Therefore, when The facts of the matter are so obvious, proposing new investigations would be tantamount to obfuscating or kicking for inaction, “he said.
Hlengwa said the scandal put Ramaphosa in the dock, as president of the ANC and the country.
“Inaction on your part would help and incite the continued entrenchment of corruption in our national political body. It would erase the line you have drawn in the sand. The ball is in your court, Mr. President,” he said.
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