SOUTH AFRICA, 13 November 2018 – Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba has finally served his letter of resignation to the Presidency following mounting pressure from the Democratic Alliance (DA) for President Cyril Ramaphosa to give him the boot.
This comes as welcome news for the travel trade in South Africa, as it was under Gigaba’s first tenure as Home Affairs Minister that draconian and job-killing visa regulations were implemented with disastrous consequences on country’s economy. It was also under Gigaba’s tenure as Finance Minister that taxes were increased – including VAT to 15% – and state-owned enterprises continued to receive massive bailouts at the expense of all South Africans.
Commenting on Gigaba’s resignation, the Chief Whip of the DA, John Steenhuisen MP said: “We maintain that those who serve our country in high office ought to embody integrity, selflessness and always remain above reproach. Malusi Gigaba – like many in the ANC and in Cyril Ramaphosa’s cabinet – falls desperately short of this standard of leadership.
“Malusi Gigaba is a product of the system of corruption within the ANC that continues to oppress South Africans. Gigaba has been found by the Public Protector to have violated the Constitution and the Executive Ethics Code following a complaint by the DA in relation to the Fireblade matter. The Public Protector made recommendations that President Cyril Ramaphosa
In the matter of Fireblade Aviation (Pty) Ltd v Minister of Home Affairs, the North Gauteng High Court found that Gigaba, as Home Affairs Minister, “deliberately told untruths under oath” and that “he committed a breach of the constitution so serious that I could characterise it as a violation”.
“We are of the view that Gigaba’s resignation does not recuse him of his wrongdoing. We have already laid criminal charges of perjury against Mr Gigaba and will pursue those charges to ensure justice is served.
“The DA will not abandon our legal action to have the court declare that the appointment of Malusi Gigaba and Bathabile Dlamini as ministers by President Ramaphosa was unlawful, unconstitutional and invalid. We are seeking an order by the court to this effect. Our legal team has approached the North Gauteng High Court on 23 October 2018, and we can confirm that the matter is set down for 11 March 2019,” concluded Steenhuisen.
