Steenhuisen Ultimatum: Ramaphosa Pressured to Dismiss ‘Corrupt’ Deputy Mashatile

Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen has delivered a stark ultimatum to President Cyril Ramaphosa: either fire Deputy President Paul Mashatile, facing a slew of corruption allegations, by February 1 or face decisive action from the opposition. The DA insists recent months have unveiled a pattern of corrupt activities by Mashatile, and it is high time Ramaphosa took a stand against corruption within his ranks.

Steenhuisen expressly demanded Ramaphosa terminate Mashatile's incumbency and push the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to initiate an immediate probe into the "damning" allegations, depicting a narrative of corruption and state capture.

Amid rising public concern, the DA slammed Ramaphosa for adopting a strategy of evasion—akin to his response in the recent National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) scandal involving Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande—thereby skirting leadership responsibilities and critical questions about his continued protection of Mashatile.

The allegations come in the wake of investigative reports spotlighting Mashatile's problematic tenure as the MEC for Human Settlements in Gauteng. Notably, Mashatile's department allegedly transferred a staggering R134 million to a company chaired by ANC donor Edwin Sodi for a purported housing project in Diepsloot, yet not a single house materialized. Sodi's company reportedly pocketed R828 million in total for various projects from Mashatile's department.

Further underscoring the gravity of corruption, Mashatile purportedly occupied a luxury mansion owned by Sodi and benefited from governmental loans to a company affiliated with his son-in-law, Nceba Nonkwelo. These proceeds ostensibly funneled into another business that possesses a R37m mansion in Waterfall Estate, where Mashatile is alleged to have resided. A forensic audit corroborated that these loans breached the Public Finance Management Act, thus flagging a serious lapse in ethical governance.

Steenhuisen suggests that Mashatile's entangled web of corruption and state capture rings alarm bells similar to, if not exceeding, the infamous misdemeanors of the Jacob Zuma presidency. Pointedly, he criticized Ramaphosa for failing to uphold his testimony before the state capture inquiry promising to prevent a recurrence of such corruption—and, by remaining inert, effectively enabling Mashatile.

Should President Ramaphosa fail to act decisively by the stipulated deadline, Steenhuisen avows that the DA will forge ahead, primed to lead and armed with a comprehensive docket chronicling Mashatile's corruption. The party stands ready to direct further censure against both Ramaphosa and Mashatile should the president continue to, as Steenhuisen contends, cower.