Ndaweni Mahlangu causes a storm in political circles

Former Mpumalanga premier, Ndaweni Mahlangu, who replaced Matthews Phosa as the province's second premier, caused a storm within political circles with his now infamous statement, "It is acceptable for politicians to lie". Mahlangu was trying to defend his decision of the re-appointment of disgraced three Members of the Executive Council (MEC) of Mpumalanga, Jacques Modipane, Steve Mabona and David Mabuza, all of whom had lied before, only to retract their statements later. The matter concerned their involvement in fraud and corruption. Unbeknown to Mahlangu, his tactics of being defensive were going to cause uproar in political circles. Opposition parties were calling for his sacking, and strong dissatisfaction was expressed within the African National Congress (ANC) hierarchy by those who felt it was unwise to have a premier in the embattled province to whom such statements could be attributed. Source: Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar , Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.