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Beleaguered North West Premier Supra Mahumapelo says he is ready to repay Denel for his son’s pilot training bursary if such a decision is taken.
Mahumapelo has also urged his detractors to leave his son out of their political battles and face him directly.
It was reported over the weekend that Mahumapelo’s 20-year-old son, Supra Jr, applied late for a bursary only after the final deadline of October 2016, but his application was approved nevertheless and he was awarded with a bursary of just over R1 million to train as a pilot for 17 months.
READ: Denel gives Supra’s son R1m pilot bursary
Addressing a group of “ANC members” who marched to the North West legislature to express their support for him to remain as premier amid an Economic Freedom Fighters sponsored motion of no confidence on him in Mahikeng earlier on Tuesday, Mahumapelo said he was setting the record straight.
He said his son had “applied like any other child so he can fly an aircraft ... now they’re after him because they hate his father”.
“Young man wants to become part of the few black pilots; but we want to ensure we destroy him before he can even start with his studies. I think we should not be subjecting other politicians’ children to this kind of a situation when we don’t like their parents,” he said.
“They must leave (my son) out of these political battles. They must face me and not go fiddle with what my son is doing at Denel.”
Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan has reportedly ordered an investigation into the bursary saga.
Mahumapelo denied he could have used his stature to influence the outcome of his son’s application, saying his son applied on his own and as a father he congratulated him when informed him he was successful.
But he said he would repay Denel if that decision was ever reached.
“... If the Denel board and the minister can decide we must give back what belongs to Denel, I will talk to my family and we’ll give them what belongs to them. But it will be very odd that there are other children that were children in the same category, subjected to the same process and were given bursaries,” he said.
“They’re trying to defocus my son from his studies (but) I told him to be like his father – remain unshakable and focus on his studies. I urge people not to come after my son ... they must come directly to me; I will face them. I am not afraid of anyone. Sometimes when you’re quiet people think you’re a coward; we need to fight this thing politically and not physically.”
Meanwhile, Mahumapelo said there were people in the ANC who were jackals in sheepskins and were gunning for him and working with the opposition.
“The problem we have is ANC members who are members of the provincial legislature (MPLs) who go around under the cover of darkness to ask the EFF to push for a motion of no confidence because they can’t face (me). They say to the EFF, ‘we can’t face this leader of the ANC, please try him that side and ask the speaker to allow us to vote in secret so we could work with you to remove him,’” Mahumapelo said.
READ: Luthuli House swoops on North West to deal with Supra problems
“There are ANC MPLs who are just a little number; not more than 10 of them. Those are the ones who are working with the EFF to remove me. Who do they think they are?”
He said the biggest mistake the ANC made was not acting against those Members of Parliament who voted with the opposition for President Jacob Zuma’s removal.
“Today they think they can do it anywhere in the country because they did it in Cape town and they think they can do it here and in municipalities. There is order and discipline in the ANC and so we can’t allow people to do as they please in the ANC,” Mahumapelo said.
He said he was not having sleepless nights over the EFF’s motion because the opposition did not have the required numbers to oust him.
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