A time-wasting exercise

What we’re witnessing is nothing new [View this email in your browser]( May 5, 2021 [Mail & Guardian]( [Mail & Guardian]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [YouTube]( Hi there, ANC KwaZulu-Natal deputy chairperson Mike Mabuyakhulu has become the first senior ANC member to abide by the party’s step-aside resolution. Mabuyakhulu earlier this month wrote to provincial secretary Mdumiseni Ntuli informing him of his decision. This news was a whimper given how much the party enjoys a good production filled with poison plots, assassinations, errant wives, mouthy drivers and tone-deaf explanations. It took dread disease for the ANC to finally introspect — or at least play at cleansing itself of tainted and corrupt leaders. In August last year, after President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Khusela Diko, had to take [special leave after allegations of corruption]( linked to personal protective equipment at the height of the pandemic, he wrote a letter to his comrades that would lead to the step-aside resolution being adopted — a matter raised at the ANC’s Nasrec conference in 2017. Ramaphosa, just months before this missive, pleaded ignorance about the depth of corruption among officials and ANC cadres when he spoke to the media shortly after the Covid-19 pandemic hit South Africa. In April last year, Ramaphosa said he would ensure not a cent of the R500-billion Covid-19 relief fund would be pilfered. Right. We have beachfront property in Limpopo to sell you. By August, his tone had changed. He wrote in a letter: “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 is the stark reality that we must now confront. At its last meeting, at the beginning of this month, the ANC national executive committee [NEC] recognised the justifiable public outrage caused by recent reports of corruption. It said these developments cause us collectively to dip our heads in shame and to humble ourselves before the people.” In the very same month, the NEC adopted Ramaphosa’s sharp letter and decided to clean house. “In a perfect world,” as Lizeka Tandwa [writes]( “the ANC should have acted in 2017, if not only for its own wrecked image.” But its history goes further back than the recent bombardment. The rule is neither new nor targeting a specific faction of the ANC. Nasrec, 2017 It was at the party’s 2017 policy conference at Nasrec that a decision was taken that those charged with corruption must voluntarily step aside and those allegedly involved in, reported for or accused of corruption face the integrity committee. After those aforementioned years of mostly ignoring the fact that the resolution exists, ANC secretary general Ace Magashule was arrested last October. He was charged with 21 counts — later increased to 74 — of corruption, money-laundering and fraud related to the asbestos project during his time as premier in the Free State. Magashule is expected to step aside. He does not intend to, insisting that branches must decide his fate. From this point, he has become synonymous with the step-aside resolution. And then there’s Bongani Bongo. If Ace is the prince target of the rule, then Bongo is the jester. The corruption-accused ANC MP told Emsie Ferreira yesterday that he would [consider his legal position regarding the step-aside instruction]( of the governing party after the scheduled meeting of the NEC at the weekend. “I believe they are going to be writing people letters. I will see what their letter says and then consider this with regard to my rights,” Bongo said after his corruption case in the Nelspruit magistrate’s court was [postponed until January 2022](. He added that, for him, the outcome of the weekend meeting had particular import because he was an MP and the chairperson of legislature’s portfolio committee on home affairs, neither of which positions he has relinquished, despite two pending matters. It makes sense for Bongo, Magashule and others to fight so vehemently. Magashule will continue to earn his [cushy R133 000 monthly salary]( when his suspension is effected this week, the ANC has confirmed to the Mail & Guardian. The scale of corruption and the number of party members involved seems insurmountable at this point. Quite simply, the governing party is finding it difficult to self correct because it cannot isolate the so-called bad apples. If an organisation wants to self correct, there must be a majority of people with integrity, who can isolate and oust the minority of the indecent. This is not possible in the ANC any more. It hasn’t been for a long time. Tainted members are not just vested in the status quo, they have evolved in symbiosis with it. This isn’t the first time, nor will it be the last. Until tomorrow, Kiri Rupiah & Luke Feltham [Subscribe now]( Enjoy The Ampersand? Share it with your friends [Share]( [Share]( [Tweet]( [Tweet]( [Forward]( [Forward]( [Share]( [Share]( Copyright © 2021 Mail & Guardian Media LTD, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in to receive communications from the Mail & Guardian either at our website or by taking out a print subscription. Our mailing address is: Mail & Guardian Media LTD 25 Owl St BraamfonteinJohannesburg, Gauteng 2001 South Africa [Add us to your address book]( Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences or unsubscribe here.]( This email was sent to {EMAIL} [why did I get this?]( [unsubscribe from this list]( [update subscription preferences]( Mail & Guardian Media LTD · 25 Owl St · Braamfontein · Johannesburg, Gauteng 2001 · South Africa