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JEREMY MAGGS: Career Advocate Shamila Batohi was appointed as the new National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) in February 2019. I don’t need to tell you that from day one she was under immense pressure to investigate and bring those responsible for corruption to book. The record, though, has been patchy, to say the least. Now, the leader of the United Democratic Movement, the UDM, Bantu Holomisa, wants a commission of inquiry into her fitness to hold office.
BANTU HOLOMISA: A lot has been said about that office in the past four or five years and Batohi, remember, she did respond and say I’m looking for money, I need to hire people. Then she was given money by Parliament, but the latest losses on serious cases of corruption, especially those that are a result of state capture findings and recommendations, for her to lose them loosely like that, and callously like that, tells us that she’s not in charge of that institution.
JEREMY MAGGS: So is it the wrong person in command or is there something wrong with the structure of the office?
BANTU HOLOMISA: Well, the inquiry must find out on that but so far, we confine ourselves to an accounting officer, of which she is. So it’s the same argument we use when we say Cyril Ramaphosa or Zuma must go because their administration is not working. So I can’t be chasing the advocates all over the show. It’s her who must tell us what’s going on in the institution.
JEREMY MAGGS: If the office is not working correctly, what, General Holomisa, do you think the consequences are? What impact is that having on law enforcement and prosecution at a senior level in this country?
BANTU HOLOMISA: Obviously, if that office is not strong and is not working, what it means is that this campaign to combat corruption in all levels, including those who are involved in state capture, it means that we will continue witnessing the looting spree we are witnessing.
JEREMY MAGGS: Do you believe, General Holomisa, any progress is being made in this country in the fight against corruption, or are we simply on the same negative trajectory that we have been for the past ten or 15 years?
BANTU HOLOMISA: There is no improvement whatsoever here, the people who have seen that by commissions of inquiry, but they are still in Cabinet, some of them. So that’s a joke.
JEREMY MAGGS: General Holomisa, what progress then have you made in terms of this commission of inquiry, apart from saying it’s a good idea, what sort of support have you had, have you set the wheels in motion?
BANTU HOLOMISA: Well, we sent the letter requesting for the inquiry to test the fitness of the NPA head yesterday and we will wait for the president to respond. But so far, judging from the media and everybody, I think the people are frustrated indeed because Batohi’s track record on prosecution leaves much to be desired.
JEREMY MAGGS: General Holomisa, you are also wanting her to be immediately suspended, am I right?
BANTU HOLOMISA: Yes, but normally when you do that inquiry for leaders in that position, normally they are suspended. That’s the procedural setup.
JEREMY MAGGS: General Holomisa, on another issue, if we can just look at electricity very quickly, you’re now seeking documentation that explains government and Eskom’s decisions regarding the country’s Just Energy Transition. You want this to support the case to have decisions to decommission coal-fired power stations and the acceptance of the
US$8.5 billion Just Transition deal set aside. What’s your thinking in that respect?
BANTU HOLOMISA: Well, the truth of the matter is that we don’t know what is the cause of this load shedding but what we know, which we are curious, is the money or the deal between Hitachi and Chancellor House, which is an investment arm of the ANC. We are curious to find out how much was involved in this transaction because the ordinary citizens of this country are being asked to pay for electricity rates, which normally increase almost every year.
Yet, we were told when we approved billions of rands to build Medupi and Kusile that at least the generation of electricity would have been addressed properly. But we were surprised to see that the ruling party … misused, or rather misled the public, that it was doing this in order to loot the resources from Eskom, which is our money, taxpayers’ money. So, the other document which we would need if the government is transparent, it should just oblige and tell the people of the court or give to the applicants whatever information we need. One, how much has been utilised so far for transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy? What progress have we made? What progress have we made with regard to the IPP (Independent Power Producer)? How much has been paid to them and how much have they generated to the grid? So that we make sure that the money we pay is worth paying for it.
JEREMY MAGGS: UDM Leader, General Bantu Holomisa, thank you very much.
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