The New York Times publishes scathing attack on David Mabuza
David Mabuza's rise within the ANC and how under the ruling party the education system has "been in shambles', is the focus of a New York Times article that was published Saturday.
Titled 'South Africa vows to end corruption. Are its new leaders part of the problem?', the article details the 'odd choice' of Mabuza as deputy president at "a time when the ANC is desperate to purge its reputation for graft and restore its image as the rightful heir to Mandela's legacy".
It quotes ANC sources who claim that the secret behind Mabuza's rise to power is that he siphoned off money from schools and other public services in Mpumalanga "to buy loyalty and amass enormous power, making him impossible to ignore on the national stage and putting him in a position to shape South Africa for years to come".
Written by Norimitsu Onishi and Selam Gebrekidan, the article starts off by detailing how a six-year-old fell into a pit toilet in Middleplaas, a town in Mpumalanga, which Mabuza was premier of.
Under his leadership, children drowned in dilapidated school pit toilets and millions of dollars in badly needed education funding went missing. So how did this man become South Africa's deputy president? https://t.co/uP3azszeAw
— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 4, 2018
The article details Mabuza's checkered history involving claims of siphoning cash from schools for his personal benefit and states that despite promises by Mabuza at the helm of the province to transform schools, nearly a quarter of primary schools in Mpumalanga still have pit toilets.
The lengthy article was retweeted over 250 times and had over 340 comments at the time of publishing this article.
Here's some of the reaction on Twitter:
Please read this. A reality check for us all - maybe we will take heed if the alarm bell is rung from abroad. Beware David Mabuza. South Africa through the lens of the @nytimes: https://t.co/us0ZgwInPs
— Mandy Wiener (@MandyWiener) August 5, 2018
SA in the eyes of the world https://t.co/3D8u8PCMXD
— Herman Mashaba (@HermanMashaba) August 5, 2018
South Africa is paying the price for the ANC’s pervasive corruption in its decrepit schools. And people are starting to notice. https://t.co/28LoXjLrPk
— Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) August 5, 2018
If you read anything today, let it be this.
— #WeAreSiyaKolisi ⚫️🔥 (@XondoZ12) August 6, 2018
This is the reality of the ANC in 2018. They claim to be a changed organisation.
NOTHING could be further from the truth. https://t.co/hP3Y9NoxKr
Another charming article that appeared recently in the New York Times exposing the country’s deeply corrupt political leadership. South Africa Vows to End Corruption. Are Its New Leaders Part of the Problem? https://t.co/BU5SAWml2U
— David Shapiro (@davidshapiro61) August 5, 2018
You can read the full article here.