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Did the distributors of The Sunday Independent face strike action on December 10 so as to stop its article claiming third forces were behind Jacques Pauw's book 'The President's Keepers'. Did that third force include ex-Treasury Minister Pravin Gordhan?
Independent Media, owners of The Sunday Independent, "believe" the first part to be true.
Online, regarding a third force, the newspaper states:
"Impeccable sources have revealed the book came after several meetings between Pauw, Gordhan, former intelligence head Moe Shaik as well as former South African Revenue Service (SARS) top executives Ivan Pillay and Johann van Loggerenberg. Sources say virtually all information regarding affairs at SARS were provided by Gordhan, Pillay and Van Loggerenberg, while information on the State Security Agency (SSA), especially the alleged looting of millions from the agency’s Principal Agent Network (PAN) sludge fund, was given by Shaik."
As the heart of this storm, whether true or not, the full article deserves to be read. Pay particular attention to the interaction between the author and ex-secret service agent, George Darmanovich. And it's impossible for us to ignore the everywhere Moe Shaik.
This situation was expected. There's undoubtedly investigation-worthy matters within 'The President's Keepers' but government officials and corporate interests often have agendas which don't include transparency... or public duty for the sake of public duty. Zuma must be held to account for many things but the Public far too often supports politicians fighting their current political enemy whilst forgetting those they support have done wrong as well. Bad things happened under Gordhan and Ramaphosa too. Even Mandela should've been more critically held to account.
I remind readers of my 2016 opinion, 'The Gordhan Ball & Zuma Bat Playing South Africa'.
Politics is a knife that cuts into the Public every which way it can. Politics is the sociopath, the Public its willing victim. The Public needs to demand better instead of praising sensationalism, gossip and bias over logic and truth.
As for Jacques Pauw, the author of The President's Keepers, i empathise. I cannot say if i'd done any different in his situation. There's a ring of truth to elements of his book but it doesn't arrive with sufficient supporting evidence (or an associated website for the nitty-gritty). Anywhere he's sidestepped, he'll face legal landmines. He would've known publication would explode into million-rand-lawsuits. Did he sacrifice his retirement for our sake or is it true, as The Sunday Independent claims, that third forces guaranteed his costs?
Unseemly timing of the newspaper's article ensures it becomes a tool for the President Jacob Zuma faction three days before the ANC meets to pick a new leader. DA-led media will harp on this at the expense of context.
Whether articles are true or false, the Media, like the politicians, is often Public's enemy.
And all presidents have keepers.
As for the value of Pauw, third forces etc., we'll just have to wait for a story-telling Court. In the meanwhile, be sure to hear his side on his Facebook page - www.facebook.com/jacques.pauw.1?ref=br_rs.
