The ANC’s step-aside policy should not be set aside
The meeting between the KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo ANC provincial executive committees on Thursday was unfortunate and opportunistic.
The lobbying to scrap the “step-aside policy” of the ANC can’t help the party to calibrate its renewal position.
The policy is controversial but a necessary tool for the party to isolate morally compromised members until they are cleared of wrongdoing.
The policy is not unconstitutional because it doesn’t convict members; rather it allows law enforcement agencies to deal with allegations against members while they relinquish the powers bestowed on them.
In government and private sectors, when executives are embroiled in scandals they are placed on special leave while under investigation.
If the ANC is serious about fighting corruption it shouldn’t scrap the stepaside policy. It should rather seek legal advice on how to manage it because it remains necessary to protect its image.
In the event where conscience and shame have vanished, a dwindling party such as the ANC should tighten its internal remedies to fight corruption and protect its legacy.
Former Northern Cape provincial chair John Block, now serving a jail sentence for corruption, paved the way by stepping aside before his conviction when it was not fashionable to do so. Why can’t everyone formally charged do the same?
Representatives and volunteers mustn’t find it difficult to relinquish power when asked to do so; they should understand that their responsibility is to display maximum discipline all the time.
The electorate has shown the ANC, if it is to regain public trust, needs to transform and be the party that serves the country properly.
It’s a shame that, instead of the ANC showing humility by tightening its rules on dealing with corruption, there are some elements of arrogance from people who are still naive enough to believe that the ANC is still a big-selling brand.
Rofhiwa Phaswana, Ekurhuleni
Time for Zanu-PF thugs to go
It is disappointing that in Zimbabwe one is still not free to campaign for the political party of one’s choice without fear or victimisation.
The perpetrator of violence and terror is President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his ruling Zanu-PF who put fear into the peace-loving people who want them to go. The masses have suffered for too long under autocratic rule.
The democratic way to change leadership is through free and fair elections, but Zanu-PF won’t allow that. They unleash violence on anyone who opposes them; worse still if one is a Citizen Coalition for Change (CCC) supporter.
They even murder to silence and instil fear in others. Zimbabwean political parties are campaigning for the 2023 general elections, but the field is not level except for Zanu-PF. CCC supporters have been abducted, murdered, raped, beaten and shot at.
This week a CCC campaign team was blocked and attacked by Zanu-PF in Matobo, Matabeleland South. This is happening in many parts of Zimbabwe. We are pleading with the international world to help so we can have free and fair elections. Mnangagwa and his Zanu-PF government must go.
Joseph Jabangwe, member of Citizen Coalition for Change
Zuma is from another planet
Why was Jacob Zuma so happy during the court case of Billy Downer and Karyn Maughan? He was jovial, smirking, and happy to see the two in the dock.
His happiness is going to be short-lived. The man has no case, the matter will be done in 2023 and it will be time for him to deal with his criminal case. That doesn’t matter since he already has a criminal record. In 2023 it will be Downer who will be smiling.
What did Msholozi mean when he told his “supporters” they should repeat the July 2021 unrest when the state does the same thing to another person? More than 300 people died, shops were looted and burnt, some lost their jobs, and factories were destroyed, yet he is happy about it. This is the man the KwaZulu-Natal ANC leaders are supporting. What a shame.
Most of the protesters in July were hooligans, and Zuma congratulated them. If they were ANC and Zuma supporters, heaven help us. Those were criminals. The least he should have done is condemn the destruction of property in July and sympathise with the bereaved. But not Zuma. The man is from another planet. Mandla Conway Maziye, Soshanguve
Noah for president
Sue de Groot’s article on Trevor Noah, “No one owns Noah” (October 16), got me thinking. While he says he has poverty to fall back on, Our Trev will want a job from December 8. What are his qualifications? He has a good grasp of international affairs. He can handle tight deadlines. He communicates well with disparate people. He brings a sense of perspective through humour.
An ex-comedian is now acing arguably the toughest job in the world, as president of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, for its mid-December national conference, the ANC is seeking a president who can save it at the next election; a popular communicator who gets things done. Can there be a better match? If the ANC does not have the wit to grab Noah for president, can the other parties be far behind? Rick Raubenheimer, Sandton
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