Article By Smuts Ngonyama 13 October 1999
On the face of it, life and politics in South Africa are most surprising to the casual observer.
But, a first lesson to any observer is that one should not merely remain looking at the surface of issues but rather one should remove the façadeand look again. This second look will show that things are not nearly as surprising as they may have initially seemed.
It therefore should not be surprising that we have very few architectsand supporters of apartheid who are prepared to own up to having ever supported the nefarious apartheid policy.
It should also not be surprising that some of the most "right wing" elements of the former regime, including Dr Tertius Delport, have found a "home" in the Democratic Party - a traditionally liberal party that has remodeled itself on the "kragdadig" National Party of old under the leadership of Tony Leon.
But it would be unfair to say that all those who "jumped ship" should be painted with the same brush. There are some who are genuinely moral, but there are those who are opportunistic and need to be watched.
However, it was never a surprise that the DP would make the comments they did, slamming President Mbeki for his speech at the Anti-Corruption Conference in Durban. It is in their nature to trivialise important matters to gain political points.
Nor was it a surprise at all that it was Dr Tertius Delport who delivered these opportunistic remarks.
Dr Delport, a former Dean of Law at UPE, has assumed the position as DP spokesperson on Justice. This might have seemed to be an obvious and inspired move by the powers that be in DP if one managed to see past Dr Delport's colourful past. This past would make his appointment and his utterances most surprising especially as the DP has appointed itself as the "great South African watchdog". But, again it is not.
Dr Delport is the embodiment of corruption and hypocrisy itself. He served as a senior Minister in one of the most loathsome and corrupt governments the world has ever seen. He was an integral part of a system that the entire world declared an affront to and a crime against humanity.
The same man, who now passes himself off as someone who espouses liberal ideals, was a huge obstacle in the CODESA negotiations, digging in his heels on each and every issue, attempting at all costs to thwart efforts to usher in freedom and a democratic future for all South Africans.
The ferocity that he employed in Kempton Park was obviously a tactic to derail these talks, because he knew that if freedom and democracy were ever achieved, the skeletons hidden in his cupboard would be exposed. Some certainly have been, these include the following :
*His personal involvement in Operation Strelitzia, a precursor to Operation Katzen, an integral part of PW Botha's "Total Strategy".
*His involvement with convicted fraudster, Peet de Pontes and alleged Mafiosi, Vito Palazzolo. It was reported in the Weekly Mail & Guardian of 05 February 1999 that "Palazzolo was a generous contributor to NP funds, and knew the deputy minister for constitutional and provincial affairs, Tertius Delport, who advocated the lifting of the Reserve Bank's freeze on Palazzolo's assets in South Africa. Delport's relative PJ "Dup" de Bruyn was Palazzolo's legal adviser".
The advent of a new democratic order in South Africa did not seem to change him. Serving as a MEC for Agriculture and then Transport in the Eastern Cape Provincial government during the GNU period, he ran into a number of scandals, including the "drawing of a salary to which he was not entitled to" and "defaulting on the rent of a government house" (Sunday Times, 1998/08/09). The list is long.
Given the above, it is therefore not surprising that Dr Delport is so sensitive when it comes to issues aimed at rooting out corruption. His history speaks for itself.
The statement of the President obviously struck a nerve, which made Dr Delport extremely uncomfortable. It probably forced him to come to terms with some of those issues and his possible complicity in such that he had tried to erase from his mind.
Yet again, we should not be surprised. Apartheid to Dr Delport and his ilk was a safe haven, a type of utopia where they could never be accused of any wrongdoing. They suffer from nostalgia of this time. But it is a selective nostalgia - nostalgia where their crimes and misgivings have been erased. They therefore are extremely uncomfortable when they are reminded of the true facts - it spoils their recollections of this wonderful heaven on earth, which they created in their heads.
What does this say about the Democratic Party? Should we be surprised or not?
Corruption cannot be detached from the legacies of our past and the widespread disintegration of society's moral integrity as a result of apartheid. But we cannot leave it at that - we need to address it resolutely.
Our President has committed the government and the country to restoring social values, which will be hostile to criminal and anti-social behaviour and has also attacked pervasive corruption in society and among citizens and has called on the nation to defy corrupt practices.
For the first time in the history of this nation, corruption is being dealt with
firmly, at the highest possible level and in the most visible
way, not merely swept under the carpet.
The ANC calls on all people of the country to strengthen the resolve to beat corruption wherever it raises its head and to give impetus to programmes established to deal with this scourge.
We further call on all South Africans to rally around the resolutions and agreements made in Durban, to stamp out corruption once and for all.
In this way we can build a better life and a more secure future for all.
Smuts Ngonyama is head of Presidency and Communication in the ANC