Business Day
*President’s move wins praise from across the board* *Sibongakonke Shoba, Business Day, Johannesburg, 25 October 2011 *PRESIDENT Jacob Zuma appeared to have made more friends than enemies yesterday when he suspended national police commissioner Bheki Cele and fired Co-operative Governance Minister Sicelo Shiceka and Public Works Minister Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde.
Opposition parties and African National Congress (ANC) allies praised Mr Zuma for finally taking action against the trio.
Mr Zuma had been under immense pressure to act against them after Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s findings against them in separate investigations.
His action could improve public confidence in his leadership and boost his chances of re-election at the ANC elective conference in Mangaung next year. While this is not Mr Zuma’s first Cabinet reshuffle, it could change the perception that he is indecisive and soft on corruption.
Gen Cele’s office said yesterday that he respected Mr Zuma’s decision to suspend him. His spokeswoman, Nonkululeko Mbatha, said Gen Cele " notes and respects the president’s decision. He is extremely confident that he will emerge completely vindicated from the forthcoming inquiry."
Ms Madonsela’s report said Ms Mahlangu-Nkabinde and Gen Cele had acted improperly over two SAPS building leases, while Mr Shiceka is accused of misusing state funds and misrepresented the purpose of some of his foreign travel. A board of inquiry has been appointed to investigate allegations against Gen Cele.
Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille said Mr Zuma’s decision was "better late than never". She said: "Accountability is critical to making democracy work. If ministers abuse their power, they must be fired."
Freedom Front Plus MP Pieter Groenewald also welcomed the Cabinet reshuffle and the suspension of Gen Cele.
Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi called the reshuffle a "great victory for our fledgling democracy and proof that our constitutional machinery works". He urged Mr Zuma to act against others implicated in similar allegations: "This must not be the end of it all."
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), which had also put pressure on Mr Zuma to act, was among those applauding him. "Cosatu congratulates the president on his firm action and hopes this marks a turning point in the fight against maladministration and corruption," spokesman Patrick Craven said. "From now on there must be a policy of zero tolerance of the looting of public resources by anyone, in the public or private sector, no matter how senior their position."
The South African Communist Party (SACP) said Mr Zuma had proven his critics wrong. "For weeks he has been characterised as indecisive by the alarmists who want him to act with haste," spokesman Malesela Maleka said. The dismissal of Ms Mahlangu- Nkabinde and Mr Shiceka forced Mr Zuma to reshuffle his Cabinet. Former public service and administration minister Richard Baloyi replaced Mr Shiceka while Ms Mahlangu-Nkabinde’s post was filled by Thulas Nxesi, former deputy minister of rural development and land reform.
Mr Nxesi is a former leader of the South African Democratic Teachers Union and is a member of the SACP central committee. His appointment could be seen as a bid to appease the left ahead of Mangaung. Mr Nxesi’s position was taken by fellow central committee member Lechesa Tsenoli.
Arms deal activist Terry Crawford-Browne said Mr Zuma's choice of three judges to chair an inquiry into the arms deal showed he was serious about the matter.
Mr Zuma said Supreme Court of Appeal Judge Willie Seriti would chair the commission. The deputy judge president of the high court in Pretoria, Willem van der Merwe, and Judge Francis Legodi of the same court make up the rest of the commission. "The fact he has appointed a Supreme Court judge indicates he is serious," Mr Crawford-Browne said.
Mr Crawford-Browne previously took Mr Zuma to the Constitutional Court in an attempt to force him to appoint a judicial commission of inquiry into the multibillion-rand deal. He said he would consider dropping his case only once Mr Zuma announced the inquiry’s terms of reference.
"We will wait to see what the terms of reference are and how they are going to go about it.
"For now it looks as though he is serious." *From: http://www.businessday.co.za/Articles/Content.aspx?id=156863* -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] .
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