Ramaphosa takes credit for Madlanga Commission, says ANC did not betray SA

President Cyril Ramaphosa says his government is now focusing on rebuilding the South African police service after discovering that it had been infiltrated by criminal elements.

He was speaking while out on the election campaign trail in Johannesburg on Sunday.

He said that when he came in as president his administration had already identified several state institutions that were going rogue and needed intervention.

He said now he had established the Madlanga Commission to identify weaknesses in the police service.

“Now, when we set up this commission, many people dismissed it, saying there is Cyril Ramaphosa again. He is always setting up commissions, and this was a very clear and deliberate move on my part to make sure that when we do rebuilding, we do it in a way that, when we set up systems, they are going to be sustainable for the future,” he said.

The Madlanga Commission was formed after intense public scrutiny and calls for action following KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner, Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s explosive media briefing exposing allegations of political interference and collusion inside the SA Police Service.

Ramaphosa said government will also focus on rebuilding the country’s intelligence services.

“Minister Ntshavheni has been so deeply involved in rebuilding our intelligence services; we are rebuilding the South African Revenue Service (SARS); we are rebuilding the police because many of us do not remember the terrible period that we went through; the Zondo Commission recommendations are being implemented.

“We are passing laws, and now the Madlanga Commission is getting people arrested, because that is what we said we wanted,” he said.

Ramaphosa said more still needs to be done to deal with corruption.

“We are going to continue dealing with corruption, and this is a process of rebuilding our country, repositioning it whether they like it or not. We are going to rebuild South Africa, to make it a South Africa that is going to bring about a better life for all our people,” he said.

He said rebuilding key state institutions is critical for economic growth and good governance.

“What we have been seeking to do is to ensure that there is proper governance in those institutions,” he said.

Have the ANC betrayed SA?

Ramaphosa denied that his party had betrayed the people of South Africa. The ANC has been in government since 1994.

“A generation is 30 years. In a generation we have been able to turn around 340 years of colonialism and apartheid rule in just 30 years. Just think about that.

“They took 340 years or so to destroy our country, to destroy its capability, to strip our people of assets, to ensure that they are not well educated.

“In 30 years and one generation, we have been transforming this country which the apartheid and colonial misrulers destroyed our country. They made our economy operate on two cylinders and not on six cylinders,” he said.