The Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training, Mduduzi Manana, has resigned and apologised to South Africans, particularly women, following the recent incident of assault he was in involved in, which is before the court.
The former Deputy Minister handed his resignation and publicly apologised for his conduct on Saturday.
“I am heartbroken and disappointed in myself as a leader in our great nation. The people of South Africa have entrusted me to lead in delivering the ethos and essence of our Constitution.
“There is no excuse in the world to ever justify what I have done and as much as I am completely and utterly shameful of the act, it’s not even about me. It is about all the women of our nation who go through abuse daily in the hands of men – people who should lead and protect them.”
Manana has expressed deep regret in letting the nation down.
“I had occasion to reflect on the matter and consequent to such reflection, I have decided, on my own, to step down from the position of Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training in the Republic of South Africa and have communicated my decision with the President.”
He said this will give him space to focus on the legal proceedings pending before the Randburg Magistrates’ Court, while allowing the good work of government to run unhindered.
“…I am sorry. I take all accountability and I promise that this will never happen again,” Manana said.
President Jacob Zuma has received and accepted his resignation. The President has thanked Manana for his contribution to the work of government during his term of office.
Manana must still be held accountable for assault
The DA welcomes Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training, Mduduzi Manana’s, resignation.
It must be noted, however, that if the ANC truly wanted to prioritise protecting women from abuse, Manana should have been removed as soon as he had admitted to assaulting a women almost two weeks ago.
That he was not immediately fired speaks volumes about how seriously the ANC view women abuse, which is rife in our society in part because leaders are not held to account for their actions.
Even the President of the ANC Women’s League, Bathabile Dlamini, stated as a matter of fact that “there are those [in government] that are actually worse than him”, in a feeble attempt to defend his inexcusable actions.
The DA has already reported Manana to the Commission for Gender Equality for the alleged mistreatment of his former secretary as well as other female employees in his department.
We await confirmation of this investigation and will also keep a close eye on the case of assault that Manana must answer for in court.
The law must now take its course next month when Manana appears in court to answer the charge of assault against him on 13 September.
It is high time that those who abuse women, especially those in positions of power, are held to account so that a message is sent that it will no longer be tolerated.
