ActionSA condemns decision not to sanction High Commissioner Anil Sooklal

ActionSA has criticised the decision not to sanction South Africa’s High Commissioner to India, Professor Anil Sooklal, after photographs showed him with former president Jacob Zuma and Ajay Gupta during a visit to a temple in Haridwar, India.

DIRCO inquiry, no disciplinary action

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) launched an internal inquiry into Sooklal’s conduct after the photographs emerged and decided not to take disciplinary action against him.

Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni criticised the wider incident, saying Zuma’s actions undermined South Africa’s criminal justice system and foreign policy.

ActionSA response

ActionSA parliamentary leader Athol Trollip said the decision weakens public confidence in the government’s willingness to hold senior public officials accountable.

“At a time when South Africans continue to endure the catastrophic economic and institutional consequences of State Capture, any association between senior public officials and individuals at the centre of that project demands thorough scrutiny and decisive action,”

Trollip described the Gupta family, together with Zuma, as having “orchestrated one of the most extensive corruption networks in South Africa’s democratic history” and said public representatives who represent South Africa abroad should meet the highest ethical standards.

“Choosing not to act in these circumstances sends the wrong message and further erodes public confidence in the State’s willingness to confront and eradicate the legacy of State Capture,”

He accused the Government of National Unity of sending conflicting signals on clean governance and said, “The Government of National Unity cannot credibly claim to be committed to clean governance while appearing to excuse conduct that raises legitimate questions about the judgement and impartiality of senior diplomats. Accountability cannot be selective, nor can it be influenced by political convenience.”

Calls for transparency

ActionSA has called on Minister Ronald Lamola to explain publicly how the decision was reached and to disclose “the findings of any internal investigation and the reasons why no disciplinary action was considered necessary”.

Trollip said that if the Government of National Unity wanted to rebuild public trust it needed to show that “no public official is beyond scrutiny and that every decision is guided by principle rather than political expediency, which has become the hallmark of Ramaphosa’s presidency.”