Sipho Pityana faces down Godfrey Oliphant to say Zuma must go

In the face of a hostile reception and a warning from the deputy mines minister‚ AngloGold Ashanti chairman Sipho Pityana said President Jacob Zuma was the “sponsor in chief of corruption” in the government and had to go.

Godfrey Oliphant‚ the deputy mineral resources minister‚ said at the opening of the third Joburg Indaba‚ a mining conference‚ that he did not want to hear continued criticism of the government without any solutions offered and that a change in presidency could not be forced.

“If you carry on like that we will return in kind‚” he said.

Pityana ignored the warning and in a blistering address to the audience‚ which gave him a long standing ovation‚ he called on business and broader society to unite in an unambiguous message to the ANC-led government that corruption and decisions made for narrow interests would no longer be tolerated.

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“Leaders found guilty of corruption or misrepresentation no longer fall on their swords for the greater good. These days they remain in office‚ inured to the shame of public opprobrium and cheered on by their superiors. And why not‚ when we have a president who literally laughs off any suggestion that government be held to a higher standard — and is‚ in fact‚ the sponsor-in-chief of corruption?” Pityana said.

“And whilst business has made some tentative steps toward confronting the threat‚ these are nowhere near clear or insistent enough.

“The fact is‚ that if we each continue to keep our heads down‚ protecting our own‚ narrow self-interest‚ the business environment that we are so desperately trying to protect with our silence will simply become unmanageable‚” he said‚ saying Zuma was not committed to the best interests of the country or to the Constitution.

“The reality is that a growing number of people and groups in civil society agree that the spigots of corruption have been opened wide‚ and they’re draining the very lifeblood from our economy‚” he said.

“We can find common cause in the belief that we deserve better leadership than we have at the moment‚ and that we demand clean‚ transparent and accountable government that has the best interests of its citizens at heart.

“We can agree‚ and must agree‚ that under Zuma‚ the government is incapable of genuine reform. And‚ therefore‚ he must go.”

The call comes after Sibanye Gold CEO Neal Froneman said at a mining conference in the US that Zuma should step down‚ and amid growing unhappiness in broader society‚ including stalwarts within the ANC‚ about the mismanagement of the government and the economy to the detriment of the country.

For too long‚ business leaders and others had kept quiet‚ in some cases to protect their own interests or for fear of reprisals by regulators‚ Pityana said.

“Don’t forcefully speak up‚ lest you anger those who regulate industry‚ dole out tenders‚ or generally dish out patronage. This silence is precisely what some in government want. Keep the difficult or indefensible issues away from the court of public opinion‚ and for heaven’s sake don’t dare hold our leaders to account out in the open‚” he said.

“For the longest time‚ our government has had a reliably obedient private sector that has for the most part kept difficult conversations behind closed doors. Quiet diplomacy perhaps. Those who have chosen to venture a more public critique have been attacked‚ their reputations undermined and threatened with dire economic consequences for their outspokenness‚” he said.

- TMG Digital/BDLive