The Democratic Alliance (DA) will today be writing to the Speaker of the National Assembly, the Honourable Max Sisulu, to request that the growing list of state deals that have benefitted President Zuma’s family and friends be debated in Parliament. The National Assembly rules make provision for matters of public importance, which the DA believes this to be, to be placed on the Order Paper for discussion.

The most recent Zuma Inc deal has seen President Zuma’s son-in-law, Lonwabo Sambudla, linked to a controversial R1 billion state tender. It is quite clear that, given the involvement of his affiliates in controversial state deals, the President’s ability to speak out against corruption is fundamentally compromised. This state of affairs has rendered him seemingly emasculated and unable to take action against high-ranking government officials found guilty of corruption, most recently the National Police Commissioner and Minister of Public Works.

The President should come before Parliament as a matter of urgency to account for the numerous reports concerning Zuma Inc, and to explain how so many of his affiliates have been on the receiving end of lucrative government contracts.

In addition to the most recent scandal involving Mr Sambudla, affiliates of President Zuma have been linked to controversial deals such as the following since he took office:

The SAPS lease saga: Zuma affiliate Roux Shabangu was the owner of the buildings involved in the Durban and Pretoria lease scandals. It is interesting to note that, since receiving the Public Protector’s most recent report into these deals, the President has broken his silence only once – to distance himself from Mr Shabangu.
Aurora Empowerment Systems/Pamodzi deal: The inexperienced Aurora, of which President Jacob Zuma’s nephew Khulubuse Zuma is a director, was controversially named the preferred party to take over the Pamodzi mines, ahead of a number of established bidders.
Imperial Crown Trading 289/Sishen deal: President Zuma's son, Duduzane Zuma, is linked through his business partner Jagdish Parekh to the inexperienced Imperial Crown Trading, which was awarded prospecting rights to a residual share of the Sishen iron ore mine.

The expansion of the Zuma family’s business interests, particularly in sectors with prominent state involvement, is a cause for deep concern. Despite the President’s protestations about his administration’s commitment to tackling corruption, his compromised position will continue to undermine any attempt to address the abuse of state power for personal gain. This is an attitude that appears to have permeated the national government at large. Subversive attempts to impede the work of corruption-busting institutions such as the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) and Public Protector have exposed this administration’s intolerance of any investigations that may hit too close to home.