‘ANC is Accused No 1 in corruption outrage’

Cyril warns party to listen to people

Today, the ANC and its leaders stand accused of corruption. The ANC may not stand alone in the dock, but it does stand as Accused No 1.”

This was said by President Cyril Ramaphosa in a hardhitting seven-page letter addressed to ANC members on Sunday.

The letter comes as reports on the looting of millions of rand meant to mitigate the effect of Covid-19 are published daily.

“This is the stark reality that we must now confront,” Ramaphosa said.

He called on ANC members to make this the turning point in the fight against corruption, saying the movement and the country were facing one of the greatest challenges since the advent of democracy.

He reflected on and acknowledged the growing anger of ordinary South Africans over the corruption allegations, saying the anger was justified.

“What has caused the greatest outrage is that there are private sector companies and individuals including civil servants who have exploited a grave medical, social and economic crisis to wrongfully enrich themselves,” he said.

This was an unforgivable betrayal for the millions of South Africans who were being negatively affected by Covid-19, hunger daily, hopelessness and joblessness.

ANC members must acknowledge that their party had been and remained deeply implicated in SA’s corruption problem, he said.

“We have to be sensitive to the concerns that are being raised by our people about our role as a movement in corrupt activities.”

Ramaphosa said the ANC had been in government on national, provincial and municipal level for more than 26 years. This had meant that leadership positions in the party had been seen by some as the most direct route to, in the first instance, employment and, in the second instance, to influence in the awarding of tenders and the distribution of other government resources.

“We cannot then blame the people if they stay away from our branches, programmes and initiatives.

“Our lack of discipline and failure to deal with the issues in our movement have eroded our organisational ethos and standing,” he said.

“As we have seen during the Covid-19 response, there are local ANC leaders who have used food parcels meant for the poor to buy political favours from those people in the branch or broader community who they rely on for their positions.

“These practices quite literally take food out of the mouths of the poor.”

Ramaphosa said on a hugely different scale, but with the same effect, is the capture of state institutions by public inexperiencing terests facilitated by politicians and officials at the highest level.

“The Zondo commission reveals a disturbing level of grand corruption. The effect has been devastating.

“Billions of rand that should have gone to improve public transport, to better infrastructure for the poor, to reliable and affordable electricity, to emerging black farmers and to the broader development of our country have been stolen to line the pockets of a criminal few,” he said.

“It has caused huge damage to the economy and to the capacity of the state.”

He proposed that every cadre accused of, or reported to be involved in, corrupt practices should account to the party’s integrity commission.