President Cyril Ramaphosa will face questions in parliament. Photo: The Citizen
President Cyril Ramaphosa will be on the hot seat on Thursday. He will respond to questions in parliament on the slow pace in dealing with serious allegations facing Minister of Justice Thembi Simelane.
Opposition parties such as the Democratic Alliance (DA) and ActionSA are set to tackle the president on Simelane’s dealings with the now defunct VBS Mutual bank.
Simelane received a loan of over R500 000 from the bank. However, parliamentarians say they are still not satisfied with the information that she gave concerning the transaction.
Even though Simelane said she had paid the money back DA parliamentarian Glynnis Breytenbach has posed a written question to the president asking him how he will ensure that members of his cabinet like Simelane act in an ethical manner that is aligned to building a capable state.
ALSO READ: VBS: Matodzi accuses Malema and Shivambu of ‘fleecing millions’
ActionSA’s Athol Trollip has been calling for Simelane’s resignation for some time.
In an interview with The Citizen on Wednesday, he said he believed that the president had been slow in taking action against Simelane.
“If I was the president, I would have dismissed he. There has been enough time to make a full disclosure.”
Trollip said Simelane had been given countless opportunities to explain herself in parliament and in her own party, the African National Congress (ANC). However, she was still failing to supply proof and evidence of her dealings with VBS.
“The minister appeared before us as the justice committee, and she did not bring proof. There was no evidence at all. So, one must assume that she is withholding some evidence and that is unacceptable.
Trollip said the president should not make any excuses for Simelane. Her position should be occupied by someone with a spotless reputation.
“The fact that there is no presentation of facts and evidence makes the cloud of suspicion grow darker and bigger every day,” he said.
ALSO READ: What chance of justice in the VBS case?
In a media briefing of Wednesday, Presidency Spokesperson Vincent Mangwenya said the president was still considering all aspects of the matter and was “applying his mind”.
The VBS scandal has become a nightmare for many politicians who had had links with the collapsed bank. This includes leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Julius Malema and the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK) new Senior Leader Floyd Shivambu.
Simelane allegedly took a R575 600 “commercial loan” from Gundo Wealth Solutions. The company brokered unlawful investments of R349 million into VBS Mutual Bank. She said she used the money to buy a coffee shop in Sandton.
At the time she was the mayor of Polokwane.-
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