‘Zuma must retract comments that businesses supporting ANC will prosper’

President Jacob Zuma. Picture: Felix Dlangamandla/Foto24

President Jacob Zuma must retract his comment that businesses which support the ANC will prosper, DA parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko has said.

Mazibuko said she would be submitting parliamentary questions to Zuma so that he can explain whether the remarks were in fact government policy. If not, he will have to issue a formal retraction.

“These remarks, made during the ANC’s birthday gala dinner, have the potential to severely compromise the principle of good governance, which our constitutional democracy fundamentally depends on.

“They imply that by backing the ANC, businesses will be provided with financial reward, which can only be leveraged through state resources,” she said.

Zuma told business people at the ANC gala dinner in Durban that businessmen who supported the ANC would see their business “multiply”.

“This is further evidence of how President Zuma fundamentally confuses the role of the state and party, and how the government continues to misuse public money, which should be spent on the poor,” Mazibuko said.

The R250 million being spent on the upgrade of Zuma’s Nkandla residence is the most glaring example to date, she said.

She said Zuma should spend more time implementing measures to fight corruption, instead of making dangerous and irresponsible comments that had the potential to undermine the country’s constitutional democracy.

- Sapa