National 5.12.2016 07:03 am
Eric Naki
Solly Mapaila of the SACP. Picture: Tracy Lee Stark
Mapaila lambasted Zuma for what he called handing over presidential prerogatives to friends, factions and ‘hangers-on'.
South African Communist Party (SACP) deputy general secretary Solly Mapaila launched a scathing attack on President Jacob Zuma yesterday during the SACP memorial service for late Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro.
During his speech at Cosatu House, Mapaila lambasted Zuma for what he called handing over presidential prerogatives to friends, factions and "hangers-on". Addressing the crowd, he warned that Cabinet did not belong to Zuma and accused the president's "worshippers and praise singers" of not being worthy revolutionaries.
He slammed a call for the president to remove ministers who differed from him in the ANC national executive committee (NEC), describing the move as factional, dangerous and misguided.
"We must reject the misguided view that it is wrong for comrades in the NEC to raise their views in the NEC. A government should be an embodiment of the people.
"In our country we have people who believe that government positions belong only to them. Cabinet does not belong to the president. The prerogative is not a tool to deal with comrades who don't agree with wrongdoings."
Mapaila further lashed out at the Gupta family's alleged attempt to capture Denel, the country's arms manufacturer. He said the fact that Zuma's son, Duduzane, is a director in Gupta-linked companies was cause for grave concern.
"The Guptas are taking Denel. What kind of a country allows this to happen? We must deal with the Guptas in the same way we dealt with capitalists such as (Anton) Rupert."
Mapaila's statement comes in the wake of Zuma coming under sharp criticism in the ANC, with some members of the NEC calling for him to step down. But Zuma survived a motion of no confidence by the NEC last week.
Commenting on Castro, Mapaila said the late Cuban leader chose the revolution and people over wrongdoing by fellow comrades in the revolutionary process. He was referring to the Cuban government's decision to sentence to death fellow comrades who were involved in drug cartels in the early part of the Cuban revolution.
"He (Castro) offered to resign when targets were not met, on more than one occasion." The first to call for Zuma's head to roll was party parliamentary chief whip Jackson Mthembu, followed by a host of ANC struggle veterans. The subsequent vote of no confidence in the NEC then followed.
Yesterday's SACP meeting was attended by a large number of Cubans, including doctors deployed in SA, representatives of the Cuban embassy, and guests from the Zimbabwe African People's Union and its former military wing, Zimbabwe People's Liberation Army.
Those in attendance wore T-shirts showing Castro's face and words paying tribute to him.
http://citizen.co.za/news/news-national/1365275/cabinet-does-not-belong-to-zuma-sacp/