ANC national chairman Gwede Mantashe during a door-to-door campaign in KwaMashu ahead of the party's manifesto launch on Saturday, February 24. Photo: @ANCKZN
Ahead of this year's elections, the ANC is giving free-from-jail cards to members implicated in corruption on the condition that they support the party during the election campaign.
In an interview with email and guardian ANC KwaZulu-Natal chairperson Siboniso Duma has called out those in Durban who believe former Limpopo leader Danny Msiza, who has been accused of corruption, should be reinstated in the party as long as there is merit to their case. , the party said it supports it.
Prime Minister Duma said there must never be “comrades who must be prejudiced”.
“No comrade should suffer for something that has come to an end, something that must be settled. I believe in fairness, and I believe that in almost every case, there is a need to take a deeper look at the merits of the case. “And that's what we need to do,” he said.
The ANC has been criticized for inconsistency in applying interim resolutions after Zandile Gumede, another party official accused of corruption, recently joined the party's campaign machinery. .
“Fortunately, we have a comrade from Limpopo ex officio on the National Executive Committee, and there are other comrades from Limpopo. If it is a legal case, it must be upheld,” Duma said.
Ms Gumede's re-emergence into the ANC was also defended by party chairman Gwede Mantashe, who told the M&G that under the interim regulations she was only a passive member and although she was not given any responsibilities, she remained a member. He said that.
“If Zandile is popular in eThekwini, you can’t tell her not to campaign. Zandile has followers. She has to tell them to vote for the ANC. That’s what matters. . Her case is a separate matter and must be investigated by the ANC,” Mantashe said.
Mr Gumede, a former KwaZulu-Natal metro mayor, steps down as ANC regional chairman following his arrest in 2019 on charges of fraud, corruption and extortion in connection with the R320-million Durban solid waste tender. I was forced to do that.
She is accused of personally receiving R2 881 350 in kickbacks for ensuring certain businesses benefited from municipal waste contracts while she was mayor of Durban. The state further accused the ANC eThekwini region of receiving R100,000 in “donations” from three of Gumede's co-accused. The trial is ongoing.
Msiza was formally charged by the National Prosecuting Authority in March 2021 and forced to resign for allegedly plundering nearly R2.3 billion from mainly poor rural residents in Limpopo province through the failed VBS Mutual Bank.
They were charged with 188 crimes including extortion, corruption, fraud, theft and money laundering.
Mr Gumede's return was partly due to growing support for former ANC president Jacob Zuma's party uMkhonto weSizwe (MK). The ANC hopes to use Gumede's appeal in the province to counter the party's growth, with the party potentially poaching supporters from the ANC and the Inkatha Freedom Party in the recent Zululand by-election. It has already been shown that there is.
The MP said that although the ANC believed in natural justice, “issues of resignation also arise regularly”. He said Gumede had served “enough time” under the resolution and it was time to bring him back into the organization to continue his duties.
“She served time in prison and wrote a letter to the Secretary-General. There is no monopoly in KwaZulu-Natal. We need her to be used in the ANC campaign because she is a comrade and she is an activist. “No,” Duma said, adding that the party was not ignoring the impact of this decision on similarly situated members.
“We understand that other comrades may feel biased in the process. Comrade Zandil resigned almost four years ago, which means that her time has come to an end and something must be done. We are saying that natural causes must occur.”
A source close to Gumede's camp said he had initially written to state secretary Bheki Mutolo to clarify his role in the election. She then sent another letter to Mbalula.
This interim resolution was adopted by the party at the 2017 Nasrec electoral conference.
In an interview with the M&G last month, Ms Gumede said the ANC had declared her to come back and work “a long time ago”, adding that she was popular among her followers.
“The good thing about the ANC is that we do what our leaders tell us to do. When they tell me what to do, [campaign for the ANC]I made sure I did that,” Gumede said.
“I have no problem if I'm told I have to participate again. That's why I'm working here again.”