Image: ECR
Faizel Patel – 24/03/2021
Political analyst Ralph Mathekga says South Africans want to see a sense of consequences for those involved in corruption in the country.
The State has shifted the goalposts when they finally indicted former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede and her 20 co-accused with corruption.
They are facing 2,786 counts as the case moved to the Durban High Court for a pre-trial hearing on the 14th of June.
In a 347-page indictment, the State outlined how the alleged corruption started in late 2016 when Gumede took over as mayor.
Speaking to Radio Islam, Mathekga says South Africans want officials involved in corruptions to be brought to book.
“We’ve just had about over a decade of intense corruption, massive looting that we no longer needs statistics or a thorough investigation to know it exits. In all this, the wheels of justice seem to be moving in a case that actually has got very deeper political implications.”
Mathekga says when a political party is positioned to benefit from tenders while in government and deploying people in official positions upon which it has to exercise oversight, the entire system becomes compromised.
“For most of the defence that are being raised ANC members, they are saying they are denying much about their personal benefit, but they keep on emphasizing that the party actually benefitted. I believe former President Jacob Zuma will resort to the same defence as well that ‘oh it went to the party.’ This is the way in which compromised ANC members are seeking to institutionally explain away their personal involvement in maladministration.”
Mathekga says the KwaZulu-Natal is a very important part of the ANC and extremely influential, adding that within that region Gumede is a very power figure.
Listen to the interview with Ralph Mathekga
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