Parliament - President Jacob Zuma says the debate on the removal of Minister Bathabile Dlamini from office for Sassa crisis is premature adding that it would be like punishing someone before they had committed a crime.
Zuma is currently answering questions in the National Assembly and says in response to questions on why he will not fire Minister of Social Development Bathabile Dlamini, that it would be the "law of the jungle" to punish her for something that has not happened as yet.
Zuma called the debate on the removal of Dlamini a premature one as measures were being put in place to ensure that all pensioners receive their grants come April, 1st.
This as leader of the Democratic Alliance asked President Zuma, why he will not, in the face of calls from South Africans and Cosatu, remove Dlamini from her position.
“I thought the date we are talking about has not arrived, the first of April. Now this is another kind of democracy that if you suspect that if a person is going to fail that you must suspended them,” he said.
“It is one thing if people raise the issue to say we are likely to get into trouble, but to act as if the first has come and that pensioners have not received their grants, that is a funny democracy, I thought what this country has been doing all it can in addressing this issue.
“I have been briefed by the minister on what they have been doing. In fact there was a tender that was taken out but was not attended to. It is not that they were sitting and doing nothing all the time, there was a tender taken out to comply with the order of the court. They are dealing with it now.”
Zuma, referring to Maimane, lamented his thoughts that it would not be lawful to punish someone before they had done something wrong.
“You are a democrat and I thought you would stick to the democracy. The rule of law says you don’t punish a person before they do something wrong, it is almost like the rule of the jungle, we suspect you of doing something, so we punish you now. I disagree honourable member, there is no crisis,” he added.