Travelgate: How the ANC rewards those guilty of corruption
Yesterday the ANC parliamentary caucus released a statement on Travelgate fraudster and Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans, Mnyamezeli Booi, in which it rejected the DA's call for Mr Booi to resign, saying it "smacked of political opportunism" and that the caucus was "satisfied by Booi's show of remorse and his co-operation with the judiciary in reaching the agreement" (see here).
Yesterday Mr Booi pleaded guilty to theft and was fined R50 000 or a five year jail term. He admitted to using R92 000 worth of travel vouchers for car rental and hotel accommodation worth R20 000.
In other words, Mr Booi defrauded Parliament, breached the good faith vested in him by the public and has dragged the process out for years; nevertheless, the ANC is happy to let Mr Booi continue in his position. He joins the ranks of the many other Travelgate fraudsters who now enjoy high-ranking positions in the ANC. And, once again, ANC bluster about accountability and a commitment to fighting corruption has come to nought.
When the scandal first broke the ANC national executive released a statement in which it stated, among other things, that the ANC would "institute disciplinary action against any of its MPs or other members found guilty of wrongdoing". It seems that it is not going to happen. In fact, the ANC seems to have gone out of its way to reward a great many of those found guilty of fraud. Below this statement is a list of a number of those Travelgate MPs who have either returned to Parliament, the provincial legislature or been given jobs by the ANC itself, subsequent to the scandal.
It is remarkable. Among the positions now held by a number of those found guilty of defrauding Parliament - the heart of South Africa's democracy - include: