VOA标准英语10月-S. African Opposition Dismayed by Dissolution of
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In South Africa, opposition1 leaders are reacting with dismay to the dissolution of an elite2 crime fighting unit that targeted organized crime and corrupt3 public officials. Correspondent Scott Bobb reports from Johannesburg.South African opposition leaders lamented4 the overwhelming passage Thursday night of two bills disbanding the special anti-crime and corruption5 unit known as the Scorpions6.
The leader of the opposition Independent Democrats7 party, Patricia De Lille, called it a sad day in an interview on South African television's E-News.
"The battle to dissolve the Scorpions has been won and the war against crime certainly has been lost because the police and the Scorpions complemented8 each other," she said.
The Inkatha Freedom Party called it a day that will live in infamy9 and the Democratic Alliance called it a political act to protect members of the ruling African National Congress.
Parliament passed bills disbanding the Scorpions by an 80 percent majority thanks to the dominance of the ANC in the legislative10 body.
Another opposition leader, Bantu Holomisa of the United Democratic Movement, said he hoped voters in elections next year would reduce the two-thirds majority that allows the ANC to pass laws at will.
"Never again should this country put all their eggs in one basket because this one-party state must be blamed squarely on the voters," he said. "And I hope they have learned a lesson in the last twelve months."
Under the bills, the Scorpions are to be incorporated into the national police under a special directorate for Priority Crime Investigation11.
The government's Safety and Security Minister Nathi Mthethwa, defended the bills saying they would end rivalry12 between the Scorpions and the police and bring greater efficiency to law enforcement.
"Through the establishment of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation we have established a sharper instrument to stab the heart of organized crime," he said.
The powerful Congress of South African Trade Unions Friday praised the parliamentary vote.
The Scorpions were founded nine years ago to strengthen the fight against corruption and organized crime. A study said it made two thousand arrests and enjoyed a 90 percent conviction rate.
The unit reportedly dismantled13 several dozen crime syndicates. And it obtained a prison sentence for fraud against the former ANC chief whip in parliament and targeted several dozen lawmakers for making personal trips on official travel funds.
Critics said the Scorpions were used selectively and to bring down political rivals of powerful officials.
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| African National Congress president Jacob Zuma at Parliament in Cape14 Town, South Africa (File) |
The Scorpions were seeking to prosecute15 ANC leader Jacob Zuma who is the leading candidate to become president in elections next year.
A court last month threw out corruption charges against Zuma on a technicality in a ruling that implied political interference by former President Thabo Mbeki.
The ruling led the ANC leadership, which is controlled by Zuma allies since a party congress last December, to oblige Mbeki to resign some six months before the end of his term.
The resignation has led to the defection of several prominent Mbeki allies who, led by former Defense16 Minister Mosiuoa Lekota, are preparing to launch a new party.
Lekota has been staging rallies around South Africa. On Thursday a rally by Lekota in an impoverished17 community outside Johannesburg was disrupted by Zuma supporters.
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