Pandor to ask Ramaphosa to reconsider Bruce Koloane as diplomat

Published Jul 12, 2019

Share

Johannesburg - International Relations Minister Naledi Pandor believes Ambassador Bruce Koloane should be recalled from his post as South African ambassador to the Netherlands. 

This comes after Koloane’s testimony at the Zondo Commission into State Capture this week, where he confessed that he pushed for the illegal landing of a plane with Gupta wedding guests at Waterkloof Air Base. 

Koloane admitted he used the names of former president Jacob Zuma, Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, and former transport minister Ben Martins to force army officials at the base to allow the Guptas’ chartered plane to land on April 30, 2013.

Speaking to Radio 702, Pandor said she believed President Cyril Ramaphosa should ‘reconsider’ Koloane’s deployment following his testimony this week. 

Koloane was appointed by Zuma as an ambassador in 2014 after the infamous plane landing. He has about six months to go, before his tenure expires.  

Former Chief of State Protocol, Ambassador Bruce Koloane appears before the commission of inquiry into allegations of state capture. Picture: Dimpho Maja/African News Agency (ANA).

“I think we should reconsider his appointment, and that is what I want to discuss with the president,” said Pandor. 

“Allow me the opportunity to speak to the president and we will then see where we go from there,” she said. 

Pandor said ambassadors should be fit and proper persons who exhibited high levels of integrity and had to be people who could represent the best of South Africa.

“I thought the confession made was quite shocking. I also thought it would be good if we developed the practice that if we err, we must stand up and we say ‘I think I should step aside’,” she said. 

Pandor said she was concerned about Koloane’s testimony and had indicated to Ramaphosa that she wanted to discuss the matter with him.

“This is something I must discuss with President Ramaphosa. The president remains in charge of appointing. I don’t proceed to the president because this is a light manner, I proceed because I am concerned. I have indicated that I want to discuss the evidence at the Zondo Commission,” she said.

The Sunday Independent

Related Topics: