EFF'S REMARKS ON PRESIDENT ZUMA BASELESS

25 September 2014

Julius Malema's call in today's ad hoc committee meeting that President Jacob Zuma should be criminally charged for the irregular expenditure at the Nkandla private residence is a typical ridiculous drivel which we dismiss outrightly. Malema's long tirade at the ad hoc committee meeting this afternoon clearly indicates to all that he had made no effort to study all the reports in front of the committee.

It is dereliction of duty on his part as an MP and a bona fide member of the ad hoc committee to go into meeting unprepared and relying solely on media clippings as a source of information. This flies in the face of an agreement in the last committee meeting that members must thoroughly study all reports before the committee to enhance the quality of their input in today's meeting.

Rather than base his input on the content of the reports, Malema instead ventured on a lengthy rant loaded with noise and fury but with no substance. Had Malema bothered to read the reports he would have found his outrageous remarks absurd. The Public Protector's report, in particular, was clear that:

The State has not spent any money on the private residence of the President in Nkandla

The President did not mislead Parliament

There was no political interference in the implementation of the Prestige Project

The State did not pay for the improvement in the dwellings of the brothers of President Jacob Zuma

None of the reports before the institution suggest or imply that the President had acted criminally. Malema screams that the President should be criminally charged, but does not state on what basis. His view that "junior officials" should not be held accountable when ANC MPs called for action against all implicated not only flies in the face of the actual findings of the Public Protector, but seeks to reduce the committee to just an individual for reasons only known by him. Such reckless utterances may score him few media headlines, but they are a waste of the committee's time as they do not assist the committee to qualitatively consider the reports and arrive at a conclusion.

Statement issued by the Office of the ANC Chief Whip, September 25 2014

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