By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The African National Congress (ANC) will be finalising its provincial legislature and Parliament lists ahead of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) cut-off date on Friday, 8 March.
The party’s National Executive Committee began a meeting at the Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg, Ekurhuleni on Monday to decide on the lists.
The meeting comes amid weekend reports that the ANC’s integrity commission flagged nearly a hundred members linked to wrongdoing, including some implicated in the state capture report.
- Gwede Mantashe — minister of mineral resources and energy and ANC national chairperson (Bosasa graft).
- Zizi Kodwa — minister of sports, arts and culture (favours from corruption-accused company EOH).
- Khumbudzo Ntshavheni — minister in the Presidency (for lack of vigilance as a board member at Denel during the administration of former president Jacob Zuma).
- David Mahlobo — deputy minister of water and sanitation (alleged looting of national intelligence funds and siphoning a monthly allowance of about R2.5-million to Zuma while intelligence minister under his administration).
- Nomvula Mokonyane — first secretary-general of the ANC (Bosasa graft).
- Cedrick Frolick (Bosasa graft).
- Thabang Makwetla (Bosasa graft).
- Bongani Bongo (numerous allegations).
- Mosebenzi Zwane (numerous allegations).
- Sfiso Buthelezi — (alleged corruption at the Passenger Rail Agency of SA while board chairperson).
- Winnie Ngwenya (Bosasa graft)
- Malusi Gigaba (serving the Gupta network using the numerous Cabinet portfolios he occupied, for which he allegedly received cash payments).
Secretary general Fikile Mbalula said the NEC will deliberate on all the names on the lists before submitting them to the Electoral Commission.
“Today we will get the report from the list committee out of all that process that will look at screening, integrity issues, the question of performance because in all of this we need continuity.
“In terms of continuity we look at performance of those who were given an opportunity, of which 50% of those must be retained in the list so that we do not start from the scratch.”
Mbalula said the party will be able to comment on specific individuals once the candidate list has been finalised.
“At the present moment, let us not speculate. If anyone is in the list, there is a reason and you have the right to ask questions.
“Once this process is done, we will be able to clarify the questions you are asking if those individuals happen to be on the list.
Mbalula said most candidates on the parliamentary list have post-matric qualifications.
“Qualifications take into consideration a whole of things like experience and so on.
“A lot of people do not necessarily have matric but have qualifications by virtue of prior learning and as a result they went on to study and get degrees and so on.”
He said each candidate went through the interviews and the process focused more on performance and continuity.
Mbalula said the process was done through their guidelines to ensure that vetoing and screening were not compromised.