Deputy President Paul Mashatile said that government agencies were hard at work to get South Africa off the notorious grey list before the January 2025 deadline.
Answering questions in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) on Thursday, Mashatile said that an inter-departmental committee was working expeditiously on the implementation of government’s anti-money laundering strategy.
But opposition parties wanted to know when alleged corrupt politicians, including President Cyril Ramaphosa, would face the wrath of the law.
Opposition parties pulled no punches, putting Mashatile on the spot about government’s commitment to prosecute high-profile corruption cases.
The Democratic Alliance (DA)’s Dennis Ryder: “The questions that South Africans are asking are when will President Cyril Ramaphosa be formally charged with money laundering? Will we arrest war criminal Vladimir Putin when he sets foot in South Africa? Will DD Mabuza be charged with his corrupt activities before he flees to Russia? wWen will Zuma be arrested again to finish his jail term?
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF)’s Kenny Motsamai: “Mr Cyril Matemela Ramaphosa himself is a criminal who stands accused of money laundering at his Phala Phala farm.”
But Mashatile said that no one was exempt from prosecution and appealed for patience.
“There’s no one that is special. They must just do their work, so I’m not going to be chasing certain high profile leaders and so on.”
Mashatile said that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is working on increasing the number of investigations into complex and serious money laundering cases.