Gigaba and Mchunu may be right about the ANC being in freefall, but what is lurking behind it may be more concerning for the country
The only time that South Africa moves fast is on the dancefloor during December.
It has been 47 days since KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi made shocking allegations of political interference, corruption and collusion with criminals in the police service.
It has been 40 days since Ramaphosa announced a judicial commission of inquiry into the matter, 22 days since a new police minister has been in office and 12 days since Parliament was supposed to finalise the framework for its own investigations into the claims.
And yet life is just as it was before Mkhwanazi dropped his bombshells, bar a new minister and a new inquiry to make it appear as if President Cyril Ramaphosa is doing something.
Aside from the hundreds of millions spent on the National Dialogue, the police probe will cost millions more in salaries, fees and administrative costs.
Parliament’s ad hoc committee into the allegations finally finalised its procedures for the investigations this week, 10 days later than initially promised.
More concerning was the resistance by some in the committee and parliament’s legal advisors to include unions and other players behind frontline police officers in the investigation.
Work in the dark
The ANC has always preferred to keep the skeletons in the cupboard and has long lost the flashlight to expose what they hide in the darkness. It is here, in the shadows, where the real deals are made and where the country and its leaders are up for sale.
This hesitance to look inwardly has also blinded the ANC to its failures and criticism from within its ranks. Malusi Gigaba and Senzo Mchunu recently went AWOL and claimed the party had “failed” and was on the “brink of collapse”.
But don’t see it as an admission of guilt, especially from a former minister, in Gigaba, who was once a shining star of state capture.
Instead, it is a deflection.
Mchunu is under investigation for serious allegations against him as police minister, while Gigaba is also feeling the heat from being defence minister Angie Motshegka’s biggest cheerleader.
Whether skipping meetings, making dangerous and unnecessary trips into war zones, or failing to provide proper oversight of the SA National Defence Force (SANDF), Motshekga has been a moemish machine. Still, she can do no wrong in the eyes of the chairperson of parliament’s joint standing commitee on defence.
A diplomatic storm is brewing over Chief General Rudzani Maphwanya’s comments in support of Iran, that has seen calls for both Maphwanya and Motshekga to resign and possibly face further action. Amid the heat, Gigaba is willing to throw anyone under the bus, even his own party, to deflect attention.
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Pray for the taxi industry? Pray for us, instead
It is a skill they share with brother in arms, the taxi industry, who this week waved away the death of 27-year-old e-hailing driver Siyanda Mvelase, allegedly at the hands of taxi drivers, by saying there is a criminal element in their ranks.
The South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) publicly promised to take action but will never admit that the crooks outnumber the rest in the industry, and it may be easier to throw away the closet than try excavate the abundance of skeletons in it.
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