Natasha Mazzone Eskom load shedding

Natasha Mazzone. Photo: Luke Daniel / thesouthafrican.com

Natasha Mazzone blasts Ramaphosa for letting the US ‘do our dirty work’

The US Treasury’s decision to sanction the Guptas has been well-received. But according to Natasha Mazzone, the move does no favours for Ramaphosa.

Natasha Mazzone Eskom load shedding

Natasha Mazzone. Photo: Luke Daniel / thesouthafrican.com

Regardless of South Africa’s public perception of the Trump Administration, it seems their Treasury Department got it spot on with their decision to blacklist the Guptas, which was announced on Thursday. Prominent DA Minister Natasha Mazzone has welcomed the decision, but served up a fierce criticism of Cyril Ramaphosa in the process.

The US government have placed strict sanctions on the Indian billionaires, and their business associate Salim Essa. In their communication, the Treasury confirmed they would be excluding the Guptas from all financial activity in America. The sanctions prohibit US persons from engaging in transactions with the four men, or entities owned or controlled by them.

Natasha Mazzone slams Cyril Ramaphosa for “inaction”

From a business perspective, it’s a major spanner in their works. And yet, it would seem that those Stateside are willing to act faster than our own levers of government. Natasha Mazzone, in her capacity as the shadow public enterprises minister, knows a thing or two about the corrupt mechanisms which greased the Guptas’ illicit activities.

Yet she’s not directing her anger at the state captors, nor their accomplices. No, Mazzone is livid with President Ramaphosa. Despite the positive move taken by the US, she believes it does nothing to portray Cyril in a good light. The DA representative slammed him for “standing idly by”, as no-one implicated in state capture has officially been prosecuted:

“It unfortunate that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government has not acted against a single individual that has been implicated in State Capture. It is incomprehensible that not a single individual responsible for State Capture has been arrested, let alone charged and hauled before the courts.”

“The fact that it has taken US authorities to act against the Guptas and their acolytes, despite the numerous evidence presented at the Zondo Commission, places a massive dark cloud of doubt over President Ramaphosa’s intentions to clean up the rot, which he stood and watched happen for almost 10 years.”

Natasha Mazzone

Cyril Ramaphosa and government corruption

Natasha Mazzone finished with a flourish, implying that this single act by the US Government “has done more in the fight against state capture” than anything he has managed while in charge of the country. Ramaphosa replaced Jacob Zuma as president in February 2018, vowing to stamp out corruption in South Africa.

However, facing resistance from opposing factions within the ANC, Ramaphosa hasn’t been able to fully sweep-out the corrupt elements that linger from the Zuma era. Prominent figures implicated at the Zondo Commission still occupy Parliamentary Chairs and influential places on party task teams: The Guptas’ fingerprints have not been fully removed from the crime scene.

Being implicated in the Bosasa scandal also hasn’t helped Cyril’s cause. He’s accused of accepting millions in illicit donations, as his CR17 leadership campaign has come under intense scrutiny this year. The Public Protector is still battling the courts to have Ramaphosa held accountable for his alleged actions.