EDITORIAL: No time for private scolding

Two months after cobbling his government of national unity, President Cyril Ramaphosa is finding himself facing a test of whether he really meant it when he said he would not tolerate sleaze in his GNU administration.

For a fortnight now, Thembi Simelane, the president’s curious pick for justice & constitutional development minister, has faced allegations of receiving money from a company that illegally pocketed millions from the VBS Mutual Bank.

In brief, the claims are that during her stint as Polokwane mayor, Simelane directed her municipality to deposit funds in VBS — against Treasury rules. Later, she received a “loan” from a company that had benefited from VBS, the collapsed bank.

From the little that she has been willing to share, Simelane claims the money, which she used to buy a coffee shop, was a loan. Yet, she has provided no proof of the loan agreement, what interest she paid or that it was settled in full.

The ANC, her party, has called her to account to its toothless integrity commission. Julius Malema’s EFF is calling on her to fall on her sword, and the new parliament is expected to question her later this week.

For her part, Simelane, who has no clear political constituency, has pledged to co-operate fully with whatever probe she is subjected to. Her boss, Ramaphosa, has been remarkably understanding. His office has said he has demanded a briefing from the minister.

To be clear, the allegations against Simelane are very serious. In the past, Ramaphosa has been decisive against claims of malfeasance in his administration. At first opportunity, after his election as president in 2018, he sacked all ministers who were tainted by state capture allegations.

Malusi Gigaba lost his job as home affairs minister. So did Mosebenzi Zwane, Jacob Zuma’s mineral resources minister and now corruption accused. The list is long.

Most recently, during the Covid-19 pandemic, Ramaphosa suspended Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, his communications minister, for two months without pay for breaching restrictions meant to contain the spread of the disease that ultimately claimed more than 100,000 lives.

Memorably, in the first few months of his presidency, he fired Nhlanhla Nene as finance minister for having lied to a journalist about meeting the Gupta family, former president Jacob Zuma’s friends.

By all accounts, these misdeeds were less serious than what Simelane is accused of. And they have to be dealt with seriously.

Clearly, the minister will not do the right thing. The right thing would be to ask for special leave while she addresses these grave allegations. This should not take long.

As a public representative, she owes us three simple answers that should be within her personal knowledge: proof of the loan agreement, terms of the loan agreement and when the loan was repaid for what has turned out to have been a failed business venture.

The president’s response has been disappointing. Asking the minister to take special leave while she deals with the allegations would have sent the right signals to all the partners in the GNU that corruption has no place in his administration.

A private admonishment hardly qualifies as appropriate rebuke. This is not time for a scolding behind closed doors.