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Statement: the ANC wants to erode public confidence in the Public Protector

Statement: the ANC wants to erode public confidence in the Public Protector

The United Democratic Movement (UDM) is outraged at the sustained attack on the Public Protector by the various offshoots of the African National Congress (ANC). The latest outburst by the ruling party’s chief whip of parliament, Mr Stone Sizani, only exposes his ignorance of the very same laws he is entrusted to make and is consistent with the attitude of the ANC towards institutions that investigate corruption without fear, favour or prejudice. This unwarranted aggressive stance by Mr Sizani echoes that of Cosas, the ANCYL, COSATU and the SACP. The ANC and their partners are hell-bent on, and without shame or embarrassment, executing a plan that the media has reported on for days before the release of the report. We have witnessed a similar onslaught during the time before the demise of the Scorpions and the undue influence exerted in the NPA. Instead of supporting Advocate Madonsela, the only aim is to erode the confidence in her office (an organ of our constitutional democracy) and give credence to its internal and non-independent structures. The ANC and its government cannot possibly investigate their own misconduct in an impartial and neutral way. The inter-ministerial report therefore cannot be placed on a pedestal and the credible Public Protector report disregarded.