Ronald Lamola’s full response

23 February 2020

It is concerning that some amongst us, especially in the governing party, insist on propelling a narrative which insinuates that law enforcement agencies are simply political tools which can be used to castigate this or that individual.

At all material times our utterances especially on matters of ethics, should be an pportunity to educate the very society that we are mandated to govern. We should always advance our historical and revolutionary commitment on equality before the law in our own conduct.

Any notion which creates the impression that the judiciary or law enforcement agencies like the National Prosecuting Authority are creatures of political instruction should be rejected with a deep sense of contempt. These are institutions put in place to serve the will of the people, not politicians.

In so far as radical economic transformation is concerned, I Will continue to advance the view that radical economic transformation cannot be attributed to individuals it is a collective program of the African National Congress. The leader of our radical economic transformation program is the President of the African National Congress and the Republic of South Africa Cyril Matamela Ramaphosa.

President Ramaphosa in fact, argued three years ago that "radical economic transformation is not a break from existing policy within the ANC and government. It does not represent a new, uncertain path. Radical economic transformation indicates a new phase of accelerated implementation of the long-standing economic policy positions of the ANC and government. "

In a rather erudite op-Ed in the Daily Maverick president Ramaphosa clarifies the usage of term as follows:

The term "radical economic transformation" was first used in the Medium-Term Strategic Framework which was adopted by the government in 2014 to guide the work of this current administration.

The Medium-Term Strategic Framework 2014-2019, which is derived from the NDP, introduced the term to signal an intensification and acceleration of the economic transformation process.

The African National Congress President has also gone on to guide us when he explains that, 'part of the problem with the current conversation about radical economic transformation is that the term has often been misused, misrepresented or misunderstood.

We now know that some highly paid PR specialists contrived a plan to use terms like "radical economic transformation" and "white monopoly capital" to launch a publicity offensive in defence of their clients.

It was part of defining a new narrative where those who stood in the way of their clients' interests were presented as being opposed to "radical economic transformation" and representing the interests of 'White monopoly capital".

It has, therefore, become accepted in many quarters that the term "radical economic transformation" is often deployed to either mask or justify activities that could be best described as state capture.'

Some people use the term "radical economic transformation" to proclaim measures that are intended to cement their "radical" credentials rather than actually achieve meaningful improvement in the lives of the poor."

I firmly believe that radical economic transformation is a term we should guard jealously because it best explains our pursuit of economic justice. In so far as the work of government is concerned it must translate into a transformative program of action with auditable targets and which can outlast any term of office. We are all for radical economic transformation.

* Shared by Minister on his twitter page @RonaldLamola