SOWETAN SAYS | Leaders must avoid conflict in state deals

The silly season is upon us. ANC members and leaders are now looking beyond President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is serving his last term as head of the ANC and the state. The party has discouraged its members from talking openly about their preferred candidates, at least until Luthuli House gives them the go-ahead.

However, this has proven difficult to police. This is why ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has come out to chastise those who are raising the name of billionaire and CAF president Patrice Motsepe.

Mbalula’s reprimand went further, suggesting that Motsepe was an outsider who should stay far from politics. Mbalula is believed to be eyeing Ramaphosa’s position when the ANC elects new leaders – so it is expected that he would seek to eliminate competition by discrediting whoever proves to be a serious opponent.

His other possible opponent, deputy president Paul Mashatile, has even bigger problems. Mashatile has for the past year or so been in a tight corner, pushing back against numerous media reports that link him to numerous allegations of corruption.

He has been linked to corruption-accused Joburg businessman Edwin Sodi. His son-in-law is alleged to have received a loan from a government entity he once oversaw in Gauteng and he is believed to be staying in a mansion that is worth R37m.

Lately, he's been linked to the group that has been awarded the Lotto licence. It has emerged that his sister in-law, Khumo Bogatsu, and his friend Moses Tembe, are directors of Bellamont Gaming, a company that holds shares in the new lotto licence holder Sizekhaya Holdings.

While Mashatile admits to being friends with Tembe, he denies having prior knowledge of his business dealings with his wife’s sister.

But more shockingly, he defends his family’s right to conduct business with the state. He maintains that he does not influence the awarding of the contract, arguing that it is minister of trade, industry and competition, Parks Tau’s prerogative to award the tender.

Mashatile may not have influenced Tau to award the tender to his sister-in-law and friend, but given their political alliances, the optics don’t look good. Mashatile’s first instincts to defend his family’s rights to conduct business show just how this government is nonchalant about the scourge of corruption. 

It is Mashatile’s responsibility to make sure government processes are free from any suspicions of corruption or nepotism. Given his responsibility in government, he should be the first to caution his family about conducting business in areas where he could easily be seen to wield influence.

While we accept there could be forces that seek to stop him from being elected president, it is his responsibility to protect his name by making sure that those around him are not found to be using their proximity to him to enrich themselves. 

SowetanLIVE