Graft: ANC to wait and see
Ace calls claims at Zondo probe startling, but urges ‘innocent til proven guilty’ principle
THE ANC has indicated it will not rush to act against its leaders the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture has implicated in alleged criminality.
This includes those linked to the Bosasa corruption scandal.
Yesterday, the party’s top brass, led by secretary-general Ace Magashule, addressed the media to outline the outcomes of its national executive committee lekgotla held on Sunday and Monday.
Magashule described allegations by former Bosasa chief operating officer Angelo Agrizzi at the commission as startling.
For five days, Agrizzi has been dropping bombshells on how for years the controversial facilities management company allegedly lined the pockets of top ANC politicians and government officials in exchange for contracts and protection from law enforcement agencies.
These included Environmental Affairs Minister Nomvula Mokonyane, ANC MP Vincent Smith and other MPs.
Magashule said the party would not hastily try to save its image by asking implicated leaders to step down.
“Allegations are allegations – tomorrow we can peddle a story about you. Are we going to ask you to step aside from your work as the media? Let us respect the universal principle of innocence until proven guilty,” he said.
He stressed that while the commission was respected and supported by the ANC, it was not a court of law.
ANC national executive committee member and Small Business Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu conceded the revelations at the commission would damage the ANC’s brand before the general elections.
“Yes, it will have a negative impact on the ANC, but this is what we believe should happen. In 25 years in government good things have been done by the ANC government. There are also things that have not gone right,” she said.
Zulu said the revelations would make the party ensure better systems were put in place to curb the abuse of power in state institutions.
“Part of the discussion that took place in the lekgotla was that the ANC has to make sure that it strengthens the institutions of government so that nobody, whether an ANC or NEC member, should be able to abuse those institutions. And the ANC discovered very late that actually there was an abuse of the process,” Zulu said.
She said it would, however, be difficult to refer the implicated members to the party’s integrity commission to check whether they were still fit to be included in the party’s parliamentary candidates’ list.
“The ANC had a process of who gets onto the list and that list process started at branch level and was finally concluded at a provincial level by the provincial list conferences,” she said.
Agrizzi also detailed how Bosasa was sometimes asked by Mokonyane to cater for ANC rallies, among many other requests.
Magashule, acting national spokesperson Dakota Legoete and head of the presidency Zizi Kodwa have all defended the party’s right to ask the private sector for financial assistance for its gatherings, including covering catering costs.
Kodwa said while she could not speak on behalf of Mokonyane or in direct response to Agrizzi’s testimony, the party’s leadership would be irresponsible if it did not try to ensure members received food at the party’s rallies, including at its recent 107th anniversary rally in Durban where more than 100000 members came from all over the country.