"He has all but declared the party that put him in power is irrelevant
to him"
To wait until the president is forced to hold an election is to invite
unprecedented corruption
If the African National Congress is interested in the welfare of this
country it should start taking steps to get rid of the
corrupt regime of President Thabo Mbeki and his cronies immediately.
To sit around for the next 18 months until Mbeki is forced to hold an election
will see probably the worst incidence of abuse of power,
unilateralism and looting we are ever likely to experience in our
lifetimes.
Mbeki has already started. In my view he is unlikely to stop. He has over the
past four weeks displayed why he was so unequivocally booted out of the ANC
presidency.
Two days after he was bundled out of the presidency, Mbeki showed his absolute
cynicism by appointing a discredited SABC board to office despite the legitimate
objections of civil society and the opposition and all his partners in the
ANC-led tripartite alliance.
Mbeki appointed the new board on a Friday evening (December 21, the day after
the conclusion of the ANC conference) and ran off on holiday to avoid the flak
that he knew would accompany this disgraceful act. He was not an honourable
enough leader to explain himself to the ANC and to a nation that has had it up
to here with the incorrigibly biased SABC.
The bias of the six members of the old board (which bullied the broadcaster into
being an Mbeki mouthpiece) aside, you will remember that
Essop Pahad lied to parliament *1 about how he got Gloria Serobe onto the
board.
On Friday evening national police commissioner Jackie Selebi finally asked Mbeki
to put him on gardening leave. This should have happened a long time ago. It is
now clear that Mbeki has been protecting this shallow,
corrupt individual for years.
On Saturday Mbeki made the extraordinary claim that he did not know of any
wrongdoing by Selebi until "a few days ago". He is lying
through his teeth *2. Mbeki suspended National Prosecutions Authority
head Vusi Pikoli because he had secured a warrant for Selebi.
Not only is Mbeki running an irredeemably corrupt
government, he has now all but declared that the party that put him in
power is irrelevant to him. Last Monday he failed to pitch up at the ANC's
inaugural national executive committee meeting. His excuse? A worthless
meet-and-greet with the Chinese foreign minister. On Saturday he did not attend
the ANC's 96th anniversary celebrations, a mere 15km from his home.
It is a pity that the new ANC leadership is full of so
many crooks and careerists *2 and is led by a man who has so many
questions hanging over him. A more morally sensitive and business-like body
would recall Mbeki and then seek a mandate from the public by holding a general
election.
The constitution allows it. After careful research, my colleague Brendan Boyle
pointed out the following options open to the new ANC leadership:
Clause 89 of the constitution provides for the removal from office of a
president by a vote of at least two-thirds of the 400 National Assembly members.
It is in effect an impeachment clause. He or she could be removed for a serious
breach of the constitution or law; serious misconduct; or for inability to
perform the functions of office.
Clause 50 allows a simple majority of MPs 201 to require the president to
dissolve parliament and call an election.
Clause 102 (2) gives a simple majority of MPs the unconditional right to pass a
motion of no confidence in the president, upon which he and his entire cabinet
must immediately resign.
The ANC holds 297 of the 400 National Assembly seats.
They should use this majority to give Mbeki the boot immediately. The people
would then have the opportunity to either give the new, Jacob Zuma-led ANC a
mandate to rule or choose a
different party to lead South Africa.
With acknowledgements to Justice Malala and The Times.
*1The ANC has made lying to
parliament its own sport.
On instruction from Mbeki, Shauket Fakie (CA) SA, the Auditor-General, along
with Selby Baqwa SC, the Public Protector and Advocate Bulelani Ngcuka the
National Director of Public Prosecutions, lied pint blank to Parliament on a
number of occasions about the Arms Deal Joint Report and the cover-up of the
Arms Deal investigation.
As bad, is lying point black to The People through the mechanism of the press
conference.
I remain entirely unconvinced that Advocate Bulelani Ngcuka the National
Director of Public Prosecutions was not lying when he announced on 23 August
2003 that the probability of a successful prosecution of Jacob Zuma was not high
enough and that he had obtained such opinion from an unnamed senior counsel to
this effect.
It just does not make sense and was clearly a political deal to allow Zuma to
step aside without getting charged.
It stinks.
*2This is the main reason why the present government should
not immediately be replaced - because it is not right to replace one set of
crooks, liars and careerists with another.
There is a very valid old truism - when in doubt don't.
This country needs to settle down for the next 12 to 15 months and then an
election held with all contenders able to show their true colours and pout
forward their best candidates.
Having a new government forced on the country right now will take us right out
of the proverbial frying pan into the fire.