By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The African National Congress (ANC) Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula addressed the members of the media on the outcomes of the party’s recent National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting.
He said the NEC had received and considered the ANC Integrity Commission’s report on matters involving five members.
Former Police Minister Bheki Cele and recently fired Social Development Minister Sisisi Tolashe are among five ANC members referred to the party’s disciplinary committee for bringing the organisation into disrepute.
Tolashe has been accused of bringing the party into disrepute following allegations linked to her tenure as minister. She was accused of misleading Parliament and failing to declare two luxury SUVs she received from Chinese officials.
Cele’s case relates to his relationship with underworld kingpin Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala.
“The NEC thanks and salutes the members of the Integrity Commission, which stands at the core of the African National Congress’s renewal programme and the upholding of ethical conduct and good governance within our ranks,” he said.
“The NEC fully endorsed the report of the Integrity Commission and its recommendations on each of the comrades named.”
He said the NEC had resolved to refer all five matters to the ANC National Disciplinary Committee for action under the party’s constitutional disciplinary process, with the NEC acting as complainant.
The others who were referred to the committee were City of Johannesburg MMC Sithembiso Zungu, Matjhabeng Local Municipality Mayor Thanduxolo Khalipha, and ANC Sedibeng regional secretary Jason Mkhwane.
“They have not been charged; they have been found to have brought the party into disrepute, so the matter is now referred to formally charge them before the disciplinary committee to decide what is appropriate for them,” said Mbalula.
Impeachment Committee
Mbalula denied the party had missed the deadline to submit list of nominees to serve in the Parliament impeachment committee.
The deadline for political parties to submit their names was Friday May 22.
Parliament said almost all parties met the deadline except the ANC, which indicated it would submit its nominees over the weekend.
Mbalula dismissed reports of an internal clash over deployments with Chief Whip Mdumiseni Ntuli, asserting his authority as the organization’s leader and confirming their submission was finalized on time.
The ANC’s nominees are Dorries Mpapane, Xola Nqola, Soviet Lekganyane, Faith Muthambi, Cameron Dugmore, Dikeledi Direko, Buti Manamela, Godfrey Mahlaule and Lusizo Makhubela. Joy Maimela has been nominated as the ANC’s alternate member.
The ANC holds nine seats on the 31‑member committee, but it was the only party to have missed the deadline.
The deadline was set by Parliament in the wake of the Constitutional Court judgment that ordered the legislature to proceed with an impeachment inquiry into President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Ramaphosa has now revived the matter in the Western Cape high court. His core argument, that the panel “misconceived its mandate, misjudged the information placed before it and misinterpreted the four charges” against him, is mostly unchanged; as is his contention that the panel made findings against him about matters outside of the four charges he was asked to respond to.
Mbalula said the impeachment committee would have to reflect and decide whether to wait or continue with the process.
“Politically, it can be regarded as a stalling tactic, but you exhaust all avenues. This is not new. He [Ramaphosa] got legal advice (at the time) that the matter was moot (at the time). Now that the matter has been brought back, it opens up the issue of reviewing,” said Mbalula.
While opposition parties like the EFF and the DA previously expressed concerns over the ANC delaying the committee’s formation, the ANC has maintained that their nominations were handled on time.
Mbalula has also taken aim at party stalwarts who are critical of the current leadership of the former liberation movement, particularly Ramaphosa.
Mbalula named Tokyo Sexwale while he also took an unveiled swipe at former ANC President Thabo Mbeki.
Sexwale and Mbeki have been critical of the ANC’s current leadership under Ramaphosa.
Mbeki had previously written to Deputy President Paul Mashatile, saying the ANC should never have used its parliamentary majority to block Phala Phala matter from proceeding to an impeachment committee.
Mbalula noted that despite the reservations Nelson Mandela had about how the ANC was run under Mbeki and how he handled the HIV/Aids crisis during his tenure, Mandela never publicly criticised the party.
He said the ANC had increasingly found itself defending the party not only against political opponents and enemies but also against “its immediate family”.
SACP “Conference of the Left”
Mbalula said the ANC would not attend the conference scheduled for the Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg from Friday to Sunday.
“The ANC will not participate in this conference,” Mbalula said.
“We have, however, invited the leadership of the SACP to a principal level engagement on the underlying questions in the standing discipline of the alliance.”
Among the parties that have confirmed attendance are the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party, Azanian People’s Organisation (AZAPO), Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC), Mayibuye Afrika, Socialist Party of Azania, Bolshevik Party of South Africa and the National Coloured Congress (NCC).
The ANC’s decision comes despite organisers describing the gathering as an effort to unite progressive organisations around a shared programme advancing working-class interests and opposing neoliberal economic policies.
But Mbalula strongly disputed the characterisation of the gathering as a genuine left formation, saying its composition reflected an anti-ANC coalition rather than a coherent ideological project.
Illegal Immigration
Mbalula says the party is not against the concerns raised by anti-migrant group March and March over undocumented foreign nationals and warned that undocumented migration poses risks to national security.
He said undocumented immigration was linked to human trafficking, drugs and other criminal activity.
“We’ve got a challenge of illegal immigrants, which manifests itself through human trafficking, drugs and all of that,” he said.
He said weak border controls had contributed to the problem and pointed to the government’s establishment of border management structures to strengthen enforcement.
His remarks come amid growing protests over illegal immigration across the country.
March and March, which has led demonstrations against undocumented foreign nationals across the country, has threatened a national shutdown on June 30 if the government fails to address its concerns.
The group is calling for stricter visa regulations, a review of asylum policies, action against businesses employing undocumented migrants, accountability for corrupt police officers and restrictions on public services for undocumented migrants.
Mbalula has now called for government to act with a sense of visible purpose on the issues that touch our people directly.
“The NEC does not characterise the majority of these activities as xenophobic because xenophobic is something that equals to hate crime and is condemned universally by laws of the United Nations and we believe that South Africans are not xenophobic,” Mbalula said.