Rivonia trialist lashes out at the ANC
MK veterans and youth league suggest he resign rather than NEC
ANDREW Mlangeni has accused President Jacob Zuma of killing the economy and the ANC. The former Robben Islander and current chair of the party’s integrity committee condemned the party’s leaders for not forcing the president to resign after the damning Nkandla constitutional judgment.
In an exclusive interview with The Star on Thursday, the nonagenarian said it pained him to see the party persisting on a path of self-destruction by failing to rein in corrupt leaders.
Mlangeni said it was hurtful that the party continued to allow divisive practices such as patronage and factionalism to take hold.
He was initially reluctant to speak about the ANC’s problems openly, maintaining his long-standing stance of criticising it only within the confines of the party’s internal structures.
“You see, for example, a large number of groups have approached me on the Nkandla issue. I have rejected them. They say: ‘Mlangeni, your colleague (Ahmed) Kathrada and others have spoken and say the president must fall. You are quiet’.”
Quizzed further, Mlangeni, 91, who is one of the three remaining Rivonia Trial accused along with Kathrada and Denis Goldberg, criticised the ANC national executive committee (NEC) for failing to recall Zuma. He stressed he was speaking in his personal capacity.
“It (the Nkandla issue) could’ve been handled differently. They should have taken a decision and asked him to resign because by not resigning, he has killed the organisation, and the economy of the country has gone down,” he said.
In April, the Constitutional Court found that the president had failed to “uphold, defend and respect the constitution” by disregarding the remedial action taken against him by former public protector Thuli Madonsela.
Amid the groundswell for Zuma to resign, the NEC said it had accepted Zuma’s apology, after he had addressed the nation.
In August, following its fourday meeting, the NEC resolved to accept collective responsibility for the party’s disastrous performance in the August municipal elections, which has largely been blamed on the scandals associated with Zuma.
Mlangeni said the NEC should have realised that persisting with the implementation of e-tolls and not dealing with the scandals around the Guptas was so damaging that the ANC had “lost 8 percent in the 2014 (national) election”.
“The e-tolls issue made us lose some votes. The Nkandla issue and the Guptas thing, we should have seen that these are going to cost us more. We lost very badly.”
Zuma has applied for an urgent court application to interdict the release of Madonsela’s state capture report, which the Guptas – who are the president’s close friends – are at the centre of because of their alleged undue influence on the appointment of cabinet ministers and the awarding of tenders.
Mlangeni said it pained him to see the ANC losing voter support because of its self-inflicted mistakes. “It’s hurtful because people stayed away from voting.
“They say ‘punish the ANC, the ANC must not take us for granted’. If you haven’t learnt from that, you will never learn.”
Mlangeni was cagey when asked if the integrity commission was contributing to the problems by not reading the riot act to wayward ANC members and leaders.
However, The Star understands that the integrity committee was not necessarily a toothless bulldog but that it was being frustrated by the ANC’s failures.
A highly placed source familiar with the integrity committee’s work said: “We are not struggling. We get information, including from the media, where people are involved (in wrongdoing). If, for example, on the issue of corruption, there’s evidence that so and so, a member of the organisation, is involved in this and that, we call that person (and say:) “Monna (man) or mme (ma’am), there is this thing about you in the media. What’s your story?’.”
“We don’t just rely on the media. We also do our own investigation. And on the basis of all that, we then take a decision and make a recommendation. But the NGC (national general council) doesn’t implement it. They are discouraging us by not implementing our recommendations. That must be corrected,” said the source.
Mlangeni said his wish was to leave the ANC in a good state when he died. “At the moment that’s not the position. There are many mistakes that we have made, and those mistakes must be corrected, otherwise we are going to lose the election again.”
ANC spokesperson Zizi Kodwa said the party wouldn’t comment on members publicly criticising the party. “I won’t engage with members who raise issues in public, whether it’s Uncle Kathy (Kathrada) or Mlangeni. If there’s anything to be communicated internally, their comment must be to strengthen the organisation.”
ANC CHIEF whip Jackson Mthembu has stuck to his guns by calling on the ANC national executive committee (NEC) to resign from lurching from one crisis to the next.
The ANC made a poor showing in the polls in August, and Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan is facing charges of fraud.
Mthembu said yesterday that the charges against Gordhan were politically motivated.
But the ANC Youth League and Umkhonto weSizwe Military Veterans Association shot back, calling on Mthembu to resign and to stop asking the entire NEC to go.
The ANCYL and MKMVA are known supporters of President Jacob Zuma.
The ANCYL also called on Mthembu to stop labelling Gordhan’s charges as being politically motivated.
Mthembu said he had raised his concerns at the last NEC meeting that the committee had to take collective responsibility for the party’s poor showing at the polls. He said it seemed the ANC had not learnt from that as Gordhan had been charged.
“We aren’t showing a change. We are factionalist. Maybe it is the right thing to do for the NEC to resign and to get other people,” he said.
“The NEC is paralysed. We need other people to take us out of this morass,” he said.
Mthembu said he had also told the ANC’s national working committee (NWC) last week that the charges against Gordhan were politically motivated.
He reiterated his earlier remarks that he would support Gordhan when he was due to appear in court on November 2.
But ANCYL spokesperson Mlondi Mkhize said Mthembu was undisciplined because he had spoken outside ANC structures.
“When Jackson Mthembu says the charges are politically motivated, he must tell us who is behind those charges. The comments by Mthembu are reckless because he says our institutions are not credible. He must not (call on people on a) loudhailer to resign; he must resign,” said Mkhize.
He added that Mthembu was claiming the moral high ground and accused the ANC chief whip of political grandstanding.
“It is unfortunate Jackson Mthembu does not behave like a senior leader of the ANC. When you have issues with the ANC you must raise them internally,” he said.
Mkhize called on Mthembu to act responsibly and not discuss issues raised at the NWC publicly. There were platforms in the ANC to raise matters.
MKMVA national chairperson Kebby Maphatsoe called for Mthembu to resign.
He said Mthembu had a short memory because the ANC had taken a decision that the NEC must take collective responsibility for the poor electoral performance.
He said that if Mthembu wanted to quit, he must do so.
“If he is brave he must resign, and he must stop lobbying other members of the NEC to resign,” he said.
“He is reckless and not disciplined,” added Maphatsoe.
ANC national spokesperson Zizi Kodwa said the NEC couldn’t resign en masse, even if it wanted to.
“The NEC is a national leadership of the ANC elected at national conference and is made up of 53 regions and branches,” he said.
“It is accountable to the branches.”
The ANC was preparing for its policy conference set for June next year in the build-up to the elective conference in December.
Kodwa said there were systems in the ANC and things didn’t happen overnight.
“It will be extremely irresponsible for the NEC to resign without accounting to the branches.
“We are going through difficult moments as an organisation and the ANC must emerge from this crisis stronger,” Kodwa said.