Johannesburg - The ANC Women’s League (ANCWL) on Wednesday reiterated support for President Jacob Zuma and harangued former finance minister Trevor Manuel and the wealthy Anton Rupert for calling on Zuma to resign following the Constitutional Court ruling on Zuma’s Nkandla home.
ANCWL Secretary Meokgo Matuba said the organisation had kept quiet for too long.
“Many of our people are aware of how far, and what sacrifices were taken to be where we are today, but going forward, it is evident that our people still struggle to share in the wealth that we should all be sharing according to the Freedom Charter.
“It remains unjust that, after 22 years of dispensation, we still find unfair, unjust rule of the many institutions that have sucked us of ourselves (sic) and even continues to cause deep, scarred divisions among us. It remains a mystery as to what extent the rule of law applies and to whom.”
She said a report called the “The CIEX report” commissioned by the apartheid government in the 1990s, and which implicated Absa “in apartheid corruption worth more than R3 billion”, remained a mystery.
“Our honourable Public Protector, Advocate Thuli Madonsela, proclaimed to investigate the report in 2011, but to this day apartheid crimes remain unpunished and Absa bank continues to operate with no penalties attached.”
“The Rembrandt Group, headed by Anton Rupert, who also called for President Jacob Zuma to resign after the court ruling made by Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng, is implicated in the report,” she alleged.
Matuba said the report was commissioned to retrieve monetary gains unlawfully received to support the apartheid regime. The findings were never followed through by the apartheid government and the investigation and report never saw the light of day, she added.
“We ask to what extent the law must take its true reflection of judgment. We are worrisome of the fact that Mr Trevor Manuel, the former finance minister, also called for the resignation of President Zuma. Manuel’s wife, Maria Ramos, was employed by National Treasury before 1994 and made a director general of National Treasury post-1994, holding the fort for seven years, before proceeding to become the CEO of Absa/Barclays bank.”
The Ruperts and the Rothschilds, she said, had become billionaires and were “running the World Bank”.
“We have forgiven, but not forgotten. In note of all the above, we have forgiven our leader, Comrade President Jacob Zuma, and remain steadfast in our quest, for economic freedom and equality alongside President Jacob Zuma. We rally with his leadership to a better change, and remain true to the course bound by the Freedom Charter.”
At least four provinces have so far made their stance known after they deliberated on the judgment that found that Zuma and the National Assembly failed to uphold and protect the constitution by ignoring Madonsela’s remedial actions regarding Zuma’s private Nkandla homestead.
The Gauteng ANC leadership said it accepted Zuma’s apology, but requested him to “reflect deeply and do the right thing to resolve the unprecedented crisis” the ANC faced. The province’s leadership, led by chairman Paul Mashatile, has been vocal in criticising how Zuma handled the drawn-out Nkandla saga.
In a statement the Gauteng leadership had said the party had lost support during the general elections in 2014 because of the Nkandla saga.
“As the ANC we have to do a deeper introspection and take far-reaching decisions that will repair the damage to our image, to continue to enjoy the confidence and trust of our people,” read the statement, released after the party held a special meeting on Monday in which it reviewed a decision by its National Working Committee (NWC) to forgive and back Zuma.
“Our president, comrade Jacob Zuma, should reflect deeply and do the right thing to resolve the unprecedented crisis that the ANC faces,” it said.
However, the ANC Youth League, ANCWL and MKVA (Umkhonto We Sizwe Military Veterans Association) structures in Gauteng have since revolted against the PEC decision to shun Zuma. The groups have called a media conference on Wednesday “to reject and denounce the PEC decision”.
The ANC’s leadership in KwaZulu-Natal on Tuesday also slated their Gauteng counterparts, accusing them of being “mischievous” and “disingenuous” for calling for action against Zuma.
KwaZulu-Natal had backed Zuma to lead, even after the court ruling. It had resolved to visit party branches, explaining the judgment and reiterating its support for the troubled president.
Mpumalanga and Limpopo have also come out in support of Zuma. Mpumalanga chairman and premier David Mabuza reportedly hinted that ANC members might help Zuma to pay back to the state the money for the Nkandla upgrades.
African News Agency and The Star