Cape Town – Deputy President Paul Mashatile has reportedly said that he is satisfied that there is no conspiracy to remove him from his position.
According to Times Live, Mashatile had a meeting with President Cyril Ramaphosa to discuss the matter, and they both agreed that there was no evidence to support the claims of a plot against him.
Mashatile had previously revealed that he was aware of a conspiracy to remove him from office.
According to City Press, he refused to name the plotters but said that they wanted him gone by next month.
Mashatile became the country’s second in command at the beginning of March after his predecessor, David Mabuza, asked to be relieved from his duties early this year.
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“I became aware that there were people trying to stop me [from] being appointed at the Union Buildings. In fact, they began plotting last year at the political level. They didn’t want me to become deputy president of the ANC, but the conference elected me,” the report quoted Mashatile as saying.
Although he did not name anyone specifically, it was speculated that Ramaphosa’s former adviser, Bejani Chauke, was involved, Times Live reported.
Mashatile also said that he believed his and his allies’ phones were being tapped by unidentified individuals associated with the alleged plot.
However, he said that he did not want a formal investigation into the matter, as he understood that politics involved such situations, and it was important to focus on the work at hand.
“No I don’t want a formal investigation because it’s politics and I understand politics. When you’re a political leader you live in that environment, so it’s OK if people don’t like you. The only thing is you must focus on doing the work,” he said.
He added: “I didn’t mention anybody because I don’t know who they are. But we talked with the president about this matter yesterday and he has also done his checking and we’ve concluded there’s no plot,” said Mashatile.
“So for now, we regard these as faceless people. We’ve decided let’s leave it there.”
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
