It can be a frustrating period for those of us in the media. The country shuts down. Nothing of any consequence seems to happen. The innocuous and the mundane make the front page. But we can always rely on deputy president Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka to come to the party. She's good copy.
Mlambo-Ngcuka, whether out of boredom or habit, at this time of the year tends to hop on a plane to some exotic place at our expense. Last year it was Abu Dhabi. This year, it's Britain. Next year, who knows? No need to be churlish - R4,5m is small beer.
On a more serious note, though, it always sticks in the craw when politicians take the public for a bunch of palookas. Somebody is spinning a yarn here. We're expected to believe that Mlambo-Ngcuka is a victim of some bureaucratic bungling; that she was loaded on a plane like a sack of potatoes, unaware of either the costs or the political implications of her action.
Should senior state officials have business interests? And should former ministers and public servants use their contacts to enrich themselves? |
Now the search is on for the fall guy, the lowly bureaucrat who made the decision to spend so much money on our deputy president. Poor chap. He probably thinks he deserves a promotion. He will have the book thrown at him. But no such enthusiasm was in evidence after last year's trip. They danced around the issue until it finally landed on the lap of the hapless public protector, who, as is his wont, swept it under the carpet.
There's a reason for the differing approaches: last year she was as guilty as sin; now she has an alibi.
Even President Mbeki has deemed it safe to weigh in on this one. He wants the matter probed, and the guilty party punished. He knows it won't be his deputy. Mbeki often presses for an inquiry when he knows what the outcome will be. When Mac Maharaj accused Bulelani Ngcuka of being an apartheid spy, Mbeki was quick to appoint a commission of inquiry. Not only did the inquiry absolve Ngcuka - as Mbeki knew it would - it also served the twin purpose of humiliating his political opponents.
There won't be any inquiry into Jackie Selebi and his dodgy friends, for instance, for the simple reason that the "right" outcome cannot be guaranteed. Nobody knows what the investigation could unearth. Thankfully, in this matter the truth will out eventually.
But where presidential intervention should be encouraged is, I think, in the debate on private interests of cabinet ministers and other government officials. Last week Mbeki penned a stout defence of some of his cabinet ministers who reportedly have interests in the Gautrain. He's been harshly criticised for it.
Though his language may have been a bit reckless and his logic hard to follow, his participation in such a debate should be welcomed. It's a more important debate - and its consequences far-reaching - than Mlambo-Ngcuka playing fast and loose with taxpayers' money. It could become a malignant tumour in our body politic.
Should ministers and other senior state officials have business interests o
Ranking the Analysts 2009
