POLL | Should Enoch Godongwana step aside after sexual harassment claim?

Finance minister Enoch Godongwana is facing mounting calls for him to step aside, despite him denying a sexual harassment claim.

A case against the minister was opened in Skukuza, Mpumalanga, recently, after a masseuse at a five-star Kruger National Park hotel accusing him of fondling her during a massage in his room.

“At the time of the alleged incident the minister was in his room with his wife, who said there is no basis for the allegations,” Godongwana's spokesperson Mfuneko Toyana said.

Godongwana also denied the accusations. 

“I have always upheld and respected the rights and dignity of women, and this allegation goes against everything I stand for,” he said.

The ANC Women’s League (ANCWL) on Monday said law-enforcement agencies must act swiftly to investigate the allegations.

The league’s national task team co-ordinator Maropene Ramokgopa called on the ANC to “deal with the matter”.

“Our country has increasingly become an unsafe place for women. It is unacceptable that every day there are reports of gender-based violence and femicide committed against women. We encourage and support all victims of gender-based violence to speak out and take necessary legal action.

“In SA gender-based violence, which encompasses any kind of violence (physical, sexual, emotional and psychological) against women and children, is widespread and of serious concern,” she said.

The EFF called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to fire Godongwana.

“If the ANC government respected women, a minister accused of sexual violence would have resigned with immediate effect on his own accord. If President Cyril Ramaphosa could just pretend to uphold his oath of office he would have fired his minister of finance.

“But SA is governed by patriarchal and misogynistic filth that it embeds in every aspect of our society. The deadly state of gender-based violence and femicide in SA is a direct reflection of the ANC government’s contempt for women in SA,” EFF spokesperson Sinawo Tambo said.