ANC YOUTH LEAGUE WELCOMES THE PUBLIC PROTECTOR'S FINDINGS ON THE COMPLAINT LAID AGAINST ANC YOUTH LEAGUE PRESIDENT JULIUS MALEMA:

16 August 2010

The African National Congress Youth League welcomes the Public Protector's findings into complaints relating to the improper awarding of tenders by municipalities in the Limpopo and North West Province. Afri-Forum and COPE laid a complaint with the Public Protector with ill-fated allegations that ANC Youth League President has been improperly awarded tenders in Municipalities in Limpopo and the North West.

After a protracted investigation and intensive interaction with Municipalities in Limpopo, the Public Protector came the following conclusions, amongst others:

• "The completed projects relating to the tenders/contracts awarded to SGL by the municipalities, referred to in this report, were generally of an acceptable quality and standard"
• "No verifiable information or evidence was presented or could be found from the investigation that indicated that contract/tenders were awarded to SGL as a result of improper influence due to friendships, comradeship, favouritism, nepotism, political affiliations, interference or any other impropriety".

These findings altogether overturns the allegations spread by the media and rumour mongers that the ANC Youth League President was involved in improper dealings with Municipalities through SGL.

Despite spirited and recurrent clarifications, the media continued to portray the ANC Youth League President as corrupt and someone who flouted processes in municipalities to get tenders. The ANC Youth League stood firm behind the President because we knew that the reports spread were a lame attempt to destroy the character and integrity of the President through lousy Newspapers with corrupt Journalists, in particular the City Press and Mail & Guardian.

As a matter of principle, the ANC Youth League and all its leaders are not and will not be associated with dodgy dealings, because we are aware how such can negatively impact on efforts to build sustainable livelihoods for all our people. ANC Youth League President recurrently said "We will never steal from the poor", because he understood that redirecting resources meant for the poor is opposed to the principles the ANC stand for. Doomsayers and rumour mongers should now know that attempts to undermine the integrity of the leadership of the ANC Youth League through peddling of wrong information will never succeed.

Statement issued by Floyd Shivambu, ANC Youth League Spokesperson, August 16 2010

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