By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The ANC top six Jessie Duarte, Ace Magashule, Gwede Mantashe, Cyril Ramaphosa, David Mabuza and Paul Mashatile at Nasrec, Johannesburg. /Simphiwe Nkwali.
Carl Niehaus has laid criminal charges against the top brass of the ANC, excluding Ace Magashule, along with the ANC itself.
Niehaus, who was fired from the ANC last week, laid the charges of fraud, theft and corruption at the Johannesburg Central Police Station on Wednesday against these five top six officials of the ANC.
Further charges laid by Niehaus included contravention of pay-as-you-earn regulations, Unemployment Insurance Fund rules, the Pension Fund Act and the Tax Administration Act.
The charges relate to the non-payment of salaries to ANC employees.
ANC staff members had initially planned on taking legal action against the governing party’s leadership over the matter.
The disgruntled Luthuli House staffers were expected to file court papers last Friday, in which they accuse the ANC’s leadership of allegedly making UIF and medical aid deductions from their salaries, but not paying them over to the relevant entities.
However, the ANC staffers backtracked on this move.
The ANC’s top six comprises president Cyril Ramaphosa, deputy president David Mabuza, chairperson Gwede Mantashe, deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte, treasurer-general Paul Mashatile and suspended secretary-general Magashule.
The ANC has been experiencing cash flow problems for some time, with staff members complaining for months that they have not been receiving salaries on time.
The ruling party hasn’t been able to pay its staff since July 2021.
Meanwhile in a defiant briefing with the media on Wednesday afternoon at the ANC’s headquarters, Luthuli House, ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe said that only the ANC would be able to bring liberation to the people of South Africa.
Mabe was dismissive of the party’s financial woes having an impact on its electoral fortunes, since apparently the party has a separate budget and separate staff for the elections.
He said the fact that numerous admin staff have not received salaries for months was a “payroll issue” and not necessarily reflective of the ANC not having “resources”.
While he was speaking, some staff members were still outside, protesting about manipulation around candidate selection for electoral lists. An ongoing strike about salaries was also continuing.
Mabe said he was surprised about the members from Limpopo and Mpumalanga protesting outside because lower structures of the party were entrusted with resolving any issues “at their level” and the ANC had confidence they would manage to do so. The protesters, however, said they had exhausted all other avenues. Mabe conceded that their issues might be legitimate and the party would look into their grievances.
Mabe also refused to be drawn on the disciplinary matter related to whether Niehaus would also be expelled as a member of the party.