David Mabuza, deputy president, condemns corruption while his own record is unclean
David Mabuza, South Africa's Deputy President, has been very vocal about his efforts and intention to rid South Africa of corruption. The former premier of Mpumalanga and the kingmaker who assured Cyril Ramaphosa's rise to the presidency, however, does not have an untainted political record. Questions have been asked about the role of Mabuza in corruption, given he is a member of the so-called "Premier" league of leaders who ran provinces while graft-tainted Jacob Zuma was president. But Mabuza is adamant he is squeaky clean. – Nadya Swart
South Africa deputy backs Ramaphosa's anti-corruption drive
By Felix Njini
South Africa's Deputy President David Mabuza said the ruling party must rid itself of corrupt members, throwing his weight behind the party's anti-graft drive. The ruling African National Congress party's leaders must back President Cyril Ramaphosa's anti-graft stance, his deputy said in an open letter published in the Sunday Times. South Africa's governing party need to "draw the line in the sand against corruption," Mabuza wrote.
"The perception that we are corrupt is as real and severe as the prevailing onslaught on the image of the ANC," Mabuza said.
Read also: SA's overpaid public servants 'fall short of expectations' – CR
Ramaphosa last month said corruption in Africa's most industrialised economy had become endemic in the 108-year-old party that led the fight against white-minority rule and has held power since the country's first multi-racial elections in 1994. Graft flourished during the nine-year rule of Ramaphosa's predecessor, Jacob Zuma, and government estimates that more than 500 billion rand ($30 billion) was probably looted from state coffers during the period.
Currently the government is probing suspect fraudulent contracts worth more than 5 billion rand for goods and services to tackle the Covid-19 epidemic.
Read also: Unpacking the scale of Covid-19 corruption: Over 167 cases in Gauteng alone – SIU