Former national police commissioner Bheki Cele has rubbished the purported “intelligence report” which President Jacob Zuma allegedly used ...
- Advertisement -
Former national police commissioner Bheki Cele has rubbished the purported “intelligence report” which President Jacob Zuma allegedly used as a basis for axing finance minister Pravin Gordhan and his deputy, Mcebisi Jonas.
Cele, the deputy minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, said as someone who had worked with the intelligence community, he regarded the so-called intelligence report, which he had seen, as amampunge.Cele, a member of the ANC’s national executive committee, spoke to City Press on the sidelines of the launch of the Rural Enterprise Development Hub by President Jacob Zuma in Dyifani village in Mbizana, in the Eastern Cape, on Friday.
 |
| Bheki Cele |
“The intelligence report that I saw, having worked with these structures [as national police commissioner], is amampunge. But it is always so. I have suffered in something that was called an intelligence report myself,” he said.
Cele said his advice was that intelligence structures be used for what they were meant to be used, and be kept out of politics. He added that he hoped Zuma had not been influenced by the report when he fired Gordhan and Jonas.
The report alleges that the two were planning to meet with international bankers to conspire against Zuma. Gordhan slammed its contents as nonsense on Friday. Cele said the so-called intelligence report that he saw could never be used to fire the two because it was “rubbish.”
“I have not been briefed, but I would hope that the president was implementing his programme without being influenced by what I saw, and I can assure you that that thing is rubbish,” he said.
In Mbizana on Friday, Zuma emerged from his military helicopter and greeted the crowd just after Gordhan’s hard-hitting press conference at National Treasury in Pretoria. He arrived two hours after nine of his black SUV protection vehicles and 20 bodyguards had already arrived at the venue.
During his address, Zuma stuck to his script and did not mention anything about his Cabinet reshuffle.
One of his close allies in the province, MEC for rural development and agrarian reform Mlibo Qoboshiyane, who had invited Zuma to the launch, did not hide his support for the president’s midnight reshuffle, saying:
“Managers must manage, leaders must lead. If they don’t want to lead, they must take their things and go.” - News24
- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -
Tinzwei Is A Worth Voyage For Those In Pursuit For Up-To-Date World Events.
Read More At The Online Coronavirus Portal Or Use The 24-Hour Public Hotline:
South Africa: 0800 029 999 or just Send Hie to 0600 123 456 on WhatsApp
No comments