Share

'Racialised' attacks on Gordhan are 'unacceptable' - SACP's Mapaila

There is a fightback campaign by looters, and that is why Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan's constitutional rights are being violated, says the SACP.

The party's first deputy general secretary Solly Mapaila spoke on Friday after a tumultuous State of the Nation Address on Thursday when Gordhan was one of the EFF's targets.

Several EFF MPs, including leader Julius Malema, raised several points of order – first insisting that former deputy president and the last apartheid-era president FW de Klerk leave the public gallery, and then insisting that President Cyril Ramaphosa fires Gordhan.

Addressing an event of the Cape Town Press Club, Mapaila described a complicated position on De Klerk. He said De Klerk unbanned the SACP, but didn't do it out of "goodwill or a change of heart", but due to the effects of "decades of struggle" by the liberation movement leaving him with no other choice.

He said the United Nations was correct to declare apartheid a crime against humanity.

Mapaila said despite the SACP's unbanning, many of their erstwhile comrades are still "unaccounted for", and therefore De Klerk's recent comment that the violence during the apartheid era was black on black violence is grating.

He added, however, that the struggle was one for a country with due process, laws and regulations.

"The disruption [of SONA] is a blatant abuse of Parliament and we condemn it strongly.

"In the disruption, there was racialised targeting of Comrade Gordhan, which was completely unacceptable.

"Yes indeed, we support Comrade Pravin," he said. "We support him particularly to uproot state capture in state-owned enterprises."

Mapaila said Ramaphosa's SONA contained several issues of interest to the SACP.

They welcomed the mooted sovereign wealth fund and called for more public investment.

He said public enterprises have a crucial developmental role to play and must be properly maintained and publicly owned under democratic control.

He said there should be a summit for the transformation of the financial sector and he welcomed the creation of a state bank.

"This, we think, is extremely important."

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should the Proteas pick Faf du Plessis for the T20 World Cup in West Indies and the United States in June?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Faf still has a lot to give ...
64% - 133 votes
No! It's time to move on ...
36% - 74 votes
Vote
Rand - Dollar
18.98
+1.2%
Rand - Pound
23.76
+0.8%
Rand - Euro
20.36
+0.9%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.39
+0.7%
Rand - Yen
0.12
+1.4%
Platinum
916.10
+0.4%
Palladium
1,008.00
+0.3%
Gold
2,324.54
+0.4%
Silver
27.36
+0.7%
Brent Crude
88.02
-0.5%
Top 40
68,498
-0.1%
All Share
74,453
-0.1%
Resource 10
61,396
+1.6%
Industrial 25
103,017
-1.0%
Financial 15
15,874
+0.2%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE