The DA leadership is sufficiently savvy to have known the type of reaction that would erupt if a delegation tried to approach President Jacob Zuma’s Nkandla homestead.
Although the DA made it clear they did not intend entering the compound, the ANC and its affiliates reacted with predictable hysteria, spewing threats of violence and busing in hundreds of people to block the way.
It’s easy to dismiss this as a DA publicity stunt but it was far more than that. Zuma and Public Works Minister Thulas Nxesi have refused to answer questions in Parliament about the R248 million of taxpayers’ money being spent on the homestead.
This directly inhibits Parliament from carrying out its constitutional duty of oversight.
By attempting to visit Nkandla, the DA was trying to carry out that oversight duty through another avenue.
This route was blocked too, both by the SA Police Service and by ANC supporters, many of whom were armed.
It is pitiful that poor folk, whose service delivery is being compromised, could be rounded up to defend Zuma against a non-existent “attack”.
Critics say the DA should leave the Nkandla probe to the Public Protector and the Auditor-General (A-G).
We disagree. Every available resource must be used to uncover the truth about how this public money is being spent.
In addition, the A-G’s probe seems restricted to finding out about possible cost inflation, rather than the detail required.
There can be no “no-go” areas in SA. The rights of Zille’s small delegation were infringed on a public road, with the help of the SAPS.
The DA has succeeded in keeping attention focused on Nkandla, and exposing the intolerance of the type of ANC member that supports Zuma.
No comments:
Post a Comment