Umm Muhammed Umar

President Cyril Ramaphosa returned to the Zondo Commission yesterday to answer questions on why the party had not done more to deal with graft. His testimony focused on the role of ANC president, starting with some startling revelations. Executive director of Corruption Watch, David Lewis, told Radio Islam that it didn’t come as a surprise that President Ramaphosa had been the one to advise then president Jacob Zuma in 2015 to appoint Brian Molefe as Eskom boss. The Commission had previously heard that Molefe was moved to Eskom on the insistence of the Guptas.

Lewis said that both former President Zuma, as well as Ramaphosa may have wanted Molefe to be moved, Ramaphosa may have based his decision based on the experience that he had had with him at the Treasury and at Sasria. Molefe was quite a highly regarded public servant. He was considered to be a rising star. Lewis says said that Molefe’s darker side was only discovered later. He said, “the reasons for supporting Molefe were not without credibility.” The president told the commission there were a few other reasons to take into consideration as well.

The President told the commission that they had a couple of options to take into consideration when becoming aware of the state capture, such as resign, speak out, or resist. He believed that if he and all like-minded individuals resigned from the executive, they would have no ability to resist some of the excesses that were taking place. Lewis suggested two possible scenarios: One that Ramaphosa resigned, and blew the whistle, signifying hat he could not work with someone like Zuma, who was corrupt. He said, “Let’s say that drove the government down and Ramaphosa or some like-minded individual was elected president, it would have saved the country a lot of grief. The other scenario is that he resigned or was removed as deputy president of the ANC, Zuma ultimately served out his term and was succeeded by one of his own cronies. Lewis said, “That would have cost the country dearly as well.” He added, “These are very, very difficult decisions and I can’t really find it in myself to say whether I think adequately that he was right or he was wrong. “

Lewis said Corruption Watch wanted people to blow the whistle. He said,”We may see corruption, taking place and so, strictly speaking, I should be saying that he should have blown the whistle as soon as he became aware that not all was good in the state of the ANC, in the state of the government.” He added, “But it’s however difficult to come to those conclusions….. it’s difficult to say what would have happened if something other than what happened. And what has happened is that we have as Ramaphosa president.” Lewis added that in his opinion Ramaphosa was a better alternative than many who would have been president if Zuma had had his say in picking his successor.

While Ramaphosa admitted to have met the Guptas, he said he never had an inkling that Molefe was a Gupta lackey. Lweis asked, “How would he have known, other than through the media, who was a friend of the Guptas and who wasn’t.” on his thoughts about the way the President had presented himself, he said that he didn’t know of another sitting head of state who would have subjected himself to this kind of examination, without a subpoena, where he was being grilled about an administration that was not his own. He said, “So, I sort of have respect for him for doing that, and when you contrast his attitude towards the Zondo Commission with that of his predecessor, you could say that we have moved a long way.”