State-capture accused are still far from the firing line

ANC has to submit list of candidates by Friday

Luthuli House spent much of Wednesday crafting a public defence that would allow those fingered in the state-capture report to continue to serve as public representatives ahead of an ANC top brass meeting led by President Cyril Ramaphosa, which will decide finally on the way forward.

The deadline for political parties to submit candidates lists to the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) is Friday.

Business Day spoke on Wednesday to several ANC staffers and national executive committee members, who said those implicated in chief justice Raymond Zondo’s state-capture report could not be forced to step aside as a commission of inquiry is not a court of law.

“It would not be correct to take someone out of the list purely on the basis of untested allegations of corruption,” said one Luthuli House insider. “It is the NPA [National Prosecuting Authority] that must evaluate the evidence and prosecute. A commission is not a court of law and not bound by the same rules of evidence,” said another ANC insider.

It is also understood that the party was preparing legal memos and case law ahead of the ANC top brass meeting which is expected to sign off on all the national and provincial lists of preferred candidates before they are submitted to the IEC.

Business Day reported on Tuesday that the ANC’s highest decision-making body granted Ramaphosa and his top officials the authority to determine the status of those accused of corruption. Sources in the party also confirmed that staff in ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula’s office spent much of the day meticulously reviewing lists from provincial structures.

Among those said to have made it on to provincial lists submitted to Luthuli House is former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede, who is in court on charges of fraud, corruption and money laundering related to a waste-collection tender.

Former health minister Zweli Mkhize, who had to resign from the cabinet after a Special Investigating Unit (SIU) investigation made an adverse finding against him over a communications tender, is also understood to again be high up on the ANC’s list of preferred candidates for parliament.

Mkhize is yet to be charged over the allegations that he put pressure on department officials to award the controversial R150m digital vibes tender.

The decision to include those implicated in state capture has been a bone of contention, and is expected to test unity and cohesion in the party.

It also calls into question the ANC’s commitment to fighting corruption and state capture ahead of the May 29 general election in which it is expected to lose its electoral majority.

The ANC is facing a strong electoral challenge from the DA, which has been campaigning on a platform of good governance, service delivery and economic growth, and from the EFF, which appeals to the poor and disaffected.

The party’s rules do not exclude those who are accused in any report from standing for public office unless they have been criminally charged in a court of law.

Any decision to exclude those accused of state capture from its provincial and national candidate lists would be seen as effectively extending the remit of the party’s step-aside rule as none of those accused has been charged in court.

However, Mkhize’s forced

A COMMISSION IS NOT A COURT OF LAW AND NOT BOUND BY THE SAME RULES OF EVIDENCE

resignation from the cabinet and ANC first deputy secretary-general Nomvula Mokonyane’s resignation as an MP are seen as examples of the step-aside rule having already been extended beyond its scope.

Other prominent members of the ANC mentioned in the state-capture report include national chair Gwede Mantashe, Malusi Gigaba, Zizi Kodwa, Vincent Smith, Winnie Ngwenya, David Mahlobo, Siyabonga Cwele, Faith Muthambi and Mildred Oliphant.

The Ramaphosa administration extended the terms of reference of the Zondo commission and empowered it to run a lengthy inquiry into state capture, in which those accused were cross-examined on the evidence presented, before serious findings and recommendations of criminal prosecution were made.

However, Ramaphosa’s administration including the NPA has been slow to act, citing resource challenges.