Let's hope e-mails will unite parliament to expunge Zuma

29 May 2017 - 09:46 By The Times Editorial
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If there was any doubt about the scale of the Gupta family's capture of the South African state, the explosive e-mail leak published in Sunday papers yesterday and here today will put that to rest.

The e-mails illustrate the hidden hand of the Gupta family and their associates in our government at a level which was once the stuff of jokey hyperbole.

The revelations that have been made so far - and there are more to come - now demand urgent action.

Some e-mails show nothing more than vulgar corruption, such as the payment of luxury travel for cabinet ministers and senior officials of state-owned enterprises.

Others are far more sinister.

The apparent disclosure of sensitive cabinet information by the then communications minister Faith Muthambi is a clear violation of her oath of office which includes the specific requirement "not to divulge directly or indirectly any secret matter entrusted to me".

E-mails that show the role that Gupta associates had in coaching Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane and ANC Youth League president Collen Maine on media inquiries provide evidence of what has been long suspected - that these individuals are beholden not to those they were elected to represent but to the Guptas.

The apparent indication that President Jacob Zuma and his family were inquiring about residency in the United Arab Emirates calls into question whether he has any loyalty at all to the country he leads.

But who will act on these disclosures? The ANC has been largely sold off and key state institutions are crippled and controlled.

All we can hope for is that these e-mails will unite our elected representatives in parliament in a common resolve to expunge the Zuma presidency when the scheduled no- confidence debate takes place.

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