Politics

Former South African President, Jacob Zuma, mocks corruption report, calls it tissue of gossips

Published

2 years ago

June 27, 2022

Former South African President, Jacob Zuma, has derided the final report of an inquiry into corruption and graft allegations against him and his nine-year administration, saying the report which indicted him was full of gossips.

The final report which was handed over to President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday by the country’s Chief Justice, Raymond Zondo, indicted Zuma of widespread plunder of state resources.

The report was the result of months of inquiry into alleged influence-peddling and corruption during Zuma’s nine years in office and has recommended the investigation and prosecution of several high-ranking officials in the previous government.

However, the 80-year-old Zuma has laughed off the report that proved wide-ranging allegations of corruption in government and state-owned companies in 2018.

Speaking through his legal team and the Jacob Zuma Foundation lawyers, the ex-President said he rejects the findings of the judicial report detailing how rampant corruption gutted state coffers during his presidency.

“We hold the view that given the unlawfulness of how this inquiry was set up, it cannot be that its findings and recommendations are lawful,” Mzwanele Manyi, spokesman for the Foundation said.

“The report is therefore a classical case of the fruits of a poisoned tree. Turning to the unlawful report of the unlawful Commission, it is predictably full of gossip, innuendo and conjecture.

“It is very short on concrete evidence. It’s really not clear what exactly did Justice Zondo and his team actually do, almost half a decade and 2 billion rand later,” Manyi said.

Zuma had been billed to address a press conference on the report but his lawyers said they had advised him at the last minute not to attend to avoid violating his parole conditions.

Related Topics:corruption Featured Jacob Zuma South Africa

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Politics

Mauritius’ Prime Minister to double as Finance Minister

Published

21 hours ago

November 23, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In an effort to maintain a tight eye on the economy, Mauritius’ Prime Minister, Navin Ramgoolam, who took office this month following a resounding election victory, said on Friday that he would retain the position of finance minister for himself.

“We are doing an audit of the economy to see to what extent the outgoing government has destroyed it,” Ramgoolam told reporters in the capital Port Louis after he presided over the swearing-in of other ministers.

Ten years after he stepped down as prime minister, the seasoned politician returned to the position when his Alliance du Changement (ADC) alliance won 60 of the 62 seats in the national legislature.

The 77-year-old Ramgoolam said earlier this week that he would be auditing governmental finances. Before this, he was prime minister from 1995 to 2000 and again from 2005 to 2014.

Ramgoolam started a campaign in 2006 to streamline taxes and reduce bureaucracy to diversify the $10 billion economy beyond exports of sugar, textiles, and tourism.

Since then, the 1.3 million-person nation, which positions itself as a bridge between Africa and Asia, has developed into a major offshore financial hub and has been rated by the World Bank as the easiest location to do business in Africa regularly.

Politics

Mali’s junta names spokesman Abdoulaye Maiga new Prime Minister

Published

2 days ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

A day after dismissing Choguel Maiga for criticising the government, Mali’s governing junta named its spokesperson, Abdoulaye Maiga, as Prime Minister on Thursday, according to state broadcaster, ORTM.

A source close to Choguel Maiga told Reuters that the ruling generals were incensed by Maiga’s remarks over the weekend denouncing the junta’s inability to hold elections within the 24-month timeframe given for the return to democracy.

After promising to hold elections in February, the military authorities, who took control in two separate coups in 2020 and 2021, have put off the poll indefinitely, citing technological difficulties.

Choguel Maiga’s firing coincides with indications of growing discontent and disarray among Mali politicians, even those who first supported the coup and collaborated with the junta.

As the wait for elections continues, Choguel Maiga, a civilian prime minister who was installed by the military junta in 2021, is the most recent to lose support.

He was cited on Saturday as claiming he learnt of the junta’s decision via the media and that there had been no discussion regarding the delay of the elections inside the cabinet.

“It’s all happening in total secrecy, without the prime minister’s knowledge,” Choguel Maiga told reporters.

Before then, he had frequently stood up for Mali’s junta against criticism from foreign friends and neighbours in West Africa who denounced its repeated election delays and military collaboration with Russian mercenaries.

As government spokesperson, Abdoulaye Maiga, the new prime minister, has also made strong public remarks against France, the previous colonial master. One such speech was demanding French President Emmanuel Macron to stop his “neocolonial” and “condescending” behaviour.

Abdoulaye Maiga and Assimi Goita, the leaders of the junta, announced they had kept all of the important cabinet ministers in their portfolios in the new administration in a statement that was broadcast on state television ORTM.

The announcement said that Abdoulaye Maiga will remain minister of territory administration.