If Mantashe can bribe, he can be bribed, says EFF who demand he step down

The EFF has called for heads to roll and demand Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe step down as both a minister and a member of parliament.

The EFF believes the allegations against Mantashe that he bribed Sunday World journalists in exchange for their silence was unethical and corrupt.

The party in a statement maintained that the allegations may be true and thus call on Mantashe to step down in both posts for engaging in corrupt and unethical relations with the media.

“He is not different for apartheid StratCom that compromised the independence and impartiality of the media by buying, bribing, and infiltrating newsrooms and journalists. What Mantashe has done is dangerous for our democracy since it compromises the standing of the media in society.”

Although Mantashe denied the claims that he forked out R70,000 for the silence of two reporters, the EFF called on Sunday World, which reported on Mantashe’s attempts to cover up a scandal that implicated Tito Mboweni and a 26-year-old Lerato Makgatho, to release the evidence of Mantashe’s confession on the bribery of journalists – “whether it be an audio, video or written record”.

“The Sunday World must do this not only for the sake of its credibility but also for the credibility of media in general. The EFF has always warned that there are many journalists who are being bribed with brown envelopes by politicians to either play stories for them or not publish scandalous stories.”

The party demands Mantashe step down.

“If he is bribing journalists to hide a sex story, we can only imagine what other corrupt activities he is involved in. A man capable of bribing journalists is capable of being bribed himself as a government official and member of the executive. He must step down with immediate effect.”

Meanwhile, the DA has asked parliament’s joint committee on ethics and members’ interests to probe conduct relating to Mantashe and claims that he bribed two journalists.

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