Zuma asks DA for his dodgy intelligence report
President Jacob Zuma has asked the Democratic Alliance to provide him with the so-called "intelligence report" that was allegedly used as his reason to fire Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and his deputy Mcebisi Jonas.
The Democratic Alliance referred to the request as "bizarre" and said it was evidence that Zuma was "hell-bent" on delaying having to explain why he fired the two ministers.
Reshuffle was 'for the youth': Zuma The High Court in Pretoria yesterday ordered President Jacob Zuma to provide the DA with records and reasons for his recent cabinet reshuffle.
The DA last week filed papers at the Pretoria High Court asking that Zuma be forced to give his reasons for axing Gordhan and Jonas. The opposition party relied on rule 53 of the Uniform Rules of the Court that expects boards and tribunals to provide reasons and evidence for their decisions‚ when those decisions are challenged in court.
High Court Judge Bashir Vally gave Zuma till the close of business on Thursday to explain why he fired the two ministers‚ saying even the President's decisions also could be reviewed in a fair hearing in court.
But Zuma has now appealed Vally's decision and in his appeal asked the DA to provide this "intelligence" report. The report was commented on by senior members of the ANC including Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa and Baleka Mbete and the SA Communist Party (SACP) who labelled it "pathetic". This suggests it is widely available.
President Zuma given 5-day order to explain midnight Cabinet reshuffle The High Court in Pretoria's Judge Bashier Vally has ordered the presidency to furnish the Democratic Alliance with records and reasons for the cabinet reshuffle within five days.
Alleged copies of this report have been reprinted on news websites.
It accuses Gordhan and Jonas of being in London on an investor road show to conspire and plot a coup to overthrow the government.
Gordhan‚ after being fired as minister‚ held a media conference at which he showed pictures of the report on his phone to media photographers
The DA said Zuma asking them for the report was nothing more than a delaying tactic to stop the case going ahead.
James Selfe ‚ leader of the DA's Federal Executive‚ said in a statement: "We have all seen this movie before. These tactics are substantially the very same tactics used by Jacob Zuma in the Spy Tapes matter to delay as long as possible the course of justice and to prevent 783 charges being reinstated against him."
WATCH: If ANC doesn’t get its house in order‚ it will lose 2019 elections: Pravin Gordhan Former finance minister Pravin Gordhan has said that if the country’s current state of affairs continue‚ the African National Congress (ANC) will lose the 2019 general elections.
Rule 53 which was passed in 1965 expects boards‚ officers and tribunals to give reasons and records for a decision‚ when the decision is taken to court for a review.
The Rule does not mention that it applies to an executive decision so Zuma argued it didn’t apply to him.
But Judge Vally argued it did. Vally said the rule allowed courts to exercise its duty to keep checks and balances on the exercise of power by government.
“This‚ in turn‚ gives effect to a litigant’s right in terms of section 34 of the Constitution to have a justiciable dispute decided in a fair public hearing before a court with all the issues being properly ventilated.”
- TMG Digital/TimesLIVE