Siyabonga Mkhwanazi

A week after President Jacob Zuma shook up the nation by reshuffling his cabinet and announced judges to lead commissions of inquiry into the arms deal and police chief Gen Bheki Cele, the president is today facing the nation.

In a breakfast briefing organised by The New Age at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, Zuma is expected to give the state of affairs for the country. He is also expected to touch on his decision to make changes in the executive and open investigations into a decade-old arms deal and the conduct of Cele.

Zuma fired cooperative governance minister Sicelo Shiceka and public works minister Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde after they were fingered by the public protector in wrongdoing.

This will be the second leg of the session since The New Age began it last month. The breakfast briefing with Zuma will be attended by 400 guests from the political front to business and civil society.

Western Cape Premier Helen Zille will be attending the briefing in which she is likely to pose some of the questions. City of Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille is out of the country and she will be represented by her deputy, Ian Nielson.

Following months of calls by opposition parties and civil society for Zuma to take action against Mahlangu-Nkabinde and Cele over dodgy lease agreements, the president fired the former and suspended the latter pending an investigation.

Zuma has appointed Free State High Court judge Jake Moloi to head a commission of inquiry into Cele. Moloi replaced retired Constitutional Court judge Yvonne Mokgoro as chairperson of the commission.

It is expected that guests will field questions on this aspect of the probe launched by Zuma.

With regard to the arms deal Zuma appointed Judge Willie Seriti to chair this inquiry and the commission has been given wide-ranging powers to get to the bottom of the arms deal.

siyabongam@the newage.co.za