By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The African National Congress (ANC) secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has announced charges are being formulated against former member of the National Executive Committee (NEC) and veteran Tony Yengeni.
ANC is marking its 113th anniversary this week, against the backdrop of its weakest electoral performance since 1994.
ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa is scheduled to deliver the birthday message, known as the January 8 Statement, at the Mandela Park Stadium in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, on Saturday.
This annual event serves as an opportunity for the party to outline its plans for the year ahead, and to reflect.
In a media briefing to provide an update on the state of readiness for the party’s 113th-anniversary celebrations on Monday, Mbalula said Yengeni and other ANC members will be charged for their social media comments.
Mbalula said that he had informed Yengeni, that he would be charging him over his online comments, which brought the party into disrepute.
He described Yengeni, who was jailed in 2006 for lying to parliament over a luxury vehicle he received from a defence contractor, as a “political Casanova” who “thinks he is a law unto himself”.
He said Yengeni was “spewing vagrant political views that are embraced by a few malcontents who are opposed to the ANC”.
“He will be charged. I have called him. I have informed him via SMS that we are going to charge him,” Mbalula said. “We will bring him before the disciplinary committee of the ANC.”
Yengeni was a “very ill-disciplined member of the ANC” who “supports everything about the uMkhonto weSizwe party.”
Mbalula said he would be charged over a number of statements he had made which contradicted ANC policy and brought it into disrepute and that action would be taken against other errant party members.
“Discipline in the ANC is important. We have seen other people on Twitter every day … leaders of the ANC tweeting things that bring the ANC into disrepute. They too will be attended to very soon.”
Mbalula said there was “nothing wrong about raising views but to attack the organisation and cast aspersions on the leadership of the ANC, that will not be tolerate”.
“They will be brought to book. They will be brought to discipline.”
The ANC was aware that some provincial leaders had decided to ignore ill-discipline, despite their responsibility to instil order, and would intervene where they failed to do so.
“The time to talk and not discipline people who bring the organisation into disrepute is over,” he said.
Mbalula also said Obed Bapela would be hauled to a disciplinary committee with the possibility of having their membership suspended or facing expulsion.
Bapela would be charged for “distorting ANC policy” over his trip to Morocco and had been informed of this.
He was removed as a member of the subcommittee after he travelled to Morocco and spoke on behalf of the party without an instruction last year.
Mbalula said the only issue on the agenda for the national executive committee meeting on Monday evening would be the adoption of the January 8 statement, which had been processed by party officials on Sunday.
The January 8 rally will be held in marquees at Mandela Park in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, an ANC stronghold, to “communicate a message” that the party wanted to “reconnect with our people” in the Western Cape and elsewhere.
Mbalula further dismissed claims about the capacity of the Mandela Park Stadium, saying it holds 22 000 people, instead of the reported 2 000.
There were claims that the party took its celebration to the venue because it only holds 2 000 people, to avoid the embarrassment of not filling a larger venue.
However, Mbalula said the stadium being referred to could not be used due to safety issues. As a result, the party would use the park next to it, which has a capacity of 22 000.
Mbalula said that committee would “reflect upon” the decision by the SACP to contest elections on its own and that it had an “appointment” with the party at which it would brief the ANC leadership on the decision.
He said the ANC was against the communist party going it alone as this would weaken the alliance further and was a “catastrophe” from his party’s point of view.