Cabinet held its ordinary meeting in Pretoria yesterday, 17 September 2008.
The meeting discussed the recent judgment in the court case between the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and Mr Jacob Zuma. Cabinet respects the judiciary and its decisions. However, Cabinet does not accept the suggestion that either the President or the Executive interfered with the prosecuting decisions of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regarding the prosecution of any person or persons. The untested inference that there was political interference with the prosecuting decisions of the NPA in this or any other case is untrue, unfounded and does not hold water.
The Constitution and the NPA Act give the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development political oversight over the National Prosecuting Authority. However, the Minister does not participate in decisions about individual prosecutions. Therefore, the suggestion that the interaction between the Minister of Justice and the National Director of Public Prosecutions constitutes interference is incorrect.
Cabinet has decided to seek legal advice on the inferences made by Judge Nicholson that President Thabo Mbeki and the Executive interfered with the NPA regarding the decision to prosecute Mr Jacob Zuma. Government will continue to work hard to defend the integrity of all our constitutional structures and the country's reputation as a constitutional state.
Cabinet welcomed the signing of the power sharing agreement by the leaders of political parties in Zimbabwe. The agreement marks the first step towards rebuilding that country and the South African government takes this opportunity to commend the people of Zimbabwe on this historic milestone. This agreement is clear evidence that it is possible for Africans to find solutions to African problems. The South African Government recognises the critical role played by the SADC facilitation mission under the leadership of President Thabo Mbeki and congratulates him and the mediation team for fulfilling the mandate of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Heads of State. All South Africans can be proud of the role played by the team in facilitating the talks that led to the signing of the agreement. The mediation team will remain engaged with the leadership of Zimbabwe to ensure that the agreement is implemented.
The agreement represents the beginning of a process of restoring peace and stability for the people of Zimbabwe, the SADC region and the entire continent. The next steps include addressing the challenge of beginning with the enormous task of rebuilding the economy of Zimbabwe. The immediate tasks include doing everything that will be necessary to resuscitate the agricultural industry ahead of the summer rains. In this regard, a Task Team led by the Departments of Agriculture, Foreign Affairs and National Treasury will work with other SADC countries to develop an emergency intervention plan.
This is an extract from the cabinet statement issued by Government Communications (GCIS) September 18 2008
