Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town Thabo Makgoba at the state of the nation address on 13 February 2020 in Cape Town. Photo: Gallo Images/Jeffrey Abrahams
While delivering his Easter message in Sunday, Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, Reverend Thabo Makgoba, urged President Cyril Ramaphosa to be transparent about the burglary at his Phala Phala game farm.
Makgoba said South Africans need to know “what happened and why it happened”.
The archbishop made these remarks during his Easter message at St George’s Cathedral in Cape Town on Saturday night.
Makgoba said South Africa’s politicians need to tackle the rampant corruption in the country and provide proper services to communities.
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He also said the turmoil seen in coalition governments recently was evidence that politicians are not prioritising citizen’s interests.
“You would think that if they were truly focused on the well-being of their constituents, they could overcome their differences enough to collaborate in coalition governments to put an end to corruption and provide decent services to our communities,” he said.
“But, instead, they play in-again-out-again revolving doors, changing mayors and speakers the way other people change their socks.”
He also said Ramaphosa and the ruling African National Congress (ANC) had not done enough to convince South Africans that they are taking corruption seriously.
“The trickle of disconnected announcements on investigations arising from the theft of money from the President’s Phala Phala farm still haven’t explained satisfactorily why such large amounts of money weren’t banked and the ANC’s refusal to allow a parliamentary inquiry is reminiscent of the cover-ups of the [Jacob] Zuma administration.
“If we are to build the nation we want, one based on transparency and honesty, the president needs to give us a single comprehensive account of what happened and why it happened.”
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Makgoba added that young South Africans should take up a new struggle to end economic inequality and corruption.
“I believe we should be urging the young people of our country to dig deep into the radical roots of the old struggle against apartheid, and to take up the new struggle. The new struggle is for a new generation, a struggle to regain our moral compass,” he said.
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