Veterans’ step-aside threat to ANC leaders
Policy to be discussed at NEC meeting amid call for ‘very tight’ vetting of candidates
The ANC’s thorny step-aside rule aimed at rooting out the corrupt or criminal is in the spotlight again as party branches nominate candidates for parliament and the nine provincial legislatures.
Senior ANC leaders say the matter came up again at a special meeting of the national executive committee (NEC) on Wednesday, where some members called for clear guidelines.
The issue is highly contentious because some of the party’s top leaders including national chair Gwede Mantashe and first deputy secretary-general Nomvula Mokonyane have been named in the Zondo state capture report or implicated in other wrongdoing.
The policy is expected to be discussed at a special NEC meeting tomorrow that has been called to discuss the terms of reference of the party’s integrity commission and consider some of the commission’s reports.
Sources say the issue was raised at the NEC meeting this week by ANC Veterans League president Snuki Zikalala, who said the vetting of candidates for the elections next year should be “very tight” to eliminate those with criminal records.
Zikalala also argued that members implicated in the Zondo report should be barred from party electoral lists, unless they had been cleared by a disciplinary committee.
The source said Zikalala feared that if the party did not act stringently, the electorate would come to the conclusion that it was not serious about its renewal project.
ANC Youth League secretary-general Mntuwoxolo Ngudle is said to have been among those who took exception to the veterans league view, arguing that the party should not come down hard on members guilty of relatively minor infractions.
Ngudle said someone who merely faced an allegation and had not been convicted of wrongdoing should not be punished. He took issue with “the blanket approach” whereby people with a criminal record due to traffic violations were treated the same as those convicted of more serious crimes.
He proposed that the NEC should clarify what constituted a serious crime. He was supported by Gauteng provincial secretary TK Nciza, who has himself appeared before the integrity commission more than once.
Veterans league secretary-general Ilva Mackay-Langa defended the league’s position as being that which the NEC had adopted ahead of the party’s national conference last year.
Sources said Mackay-Langa told the meeting that 92 party members had failed to appear before the integrity commission as they should have. If they did not do so, they should be subjected to a disciplinary process.
Several ANC leaders were implicated in the state capture report. If they are ever charged, it is unlikely to be before the nomination process is complete.
These leaders — including top seven members Mantashe and Mokonyane — would have to be left off all lists if the veterans league has its way. The state capture commission recommended they should be investigated by law enforcement agencies with a view to prosecution.
Other senior members who are under a cloud include deputy minister of defence Thabang Makwetla, former finance and public enterprises minister Malusi Gigaba, sports minister Zizi Kodwa and MP Mosebenzi Zwane.
But the veterans league proposal could strengthen the hand of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s opponents, who would argue that he is tainted by the Phala Phala scandal.
Former spy boss Arthur Fraser laid charges against Ramaphosa last year over the stash of dollar bills that was stolen from its hiding place in a sofa on this farm.
Former health minister Zweli Mkhize might be barred from returning to parliament owing to the allegations he faces in relation to the Digital Vibes scandal. The scandal led to his departure from the cabinet.
Another prominent figure who would be affected is Limpopo transport & community safety MEC Florence Radzilani, who faces accusations that she benefited from the looting of VBS Mutual Bank. Radzilani has been mentioned as a possible future Limpopo premier.