ANC members named in state capture report must face integrity commission - Western Cape ANC
16 January 2017
Cape Town - The ANC in the Western Cape says members named in former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela's state capture report should appear before the party's integrity commission to ease public fears.
Acting provincial chairperson Khaya Magaxa said they condemned the "abuse of state machinery" to settle political scores, as well as the "politicization of law enforcement agencies".
Magaxa said the Western Cape ANC was worried about state capture report and the noise surrounding its publication.
"Any of those things have a capacity to undermine the sovereignty and independence of the movement," he said. "Those problems that are there are serious problems to us.
"That is why we would like everybody who has been mentioned in that report to undergo a process of the integrity commission, so that a person can clarify...
"[And] not in a way that hunts anyone, but we feel comrades must explain themselves to the integrity commission."
He also said the prosecution and subsequent withdrawal of charges against Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan last year could not be seen as isolated from the larger context of "corporate capture" of the state.
Political abuses 'rearing its ugly head'
ANC members named in the report include President Jacob Zuma, and cabinet ministers Mosabenzi Zwane and David van Rooyen, among others.
Magaxa stopped short of naming any one individual or their positions, saying the report was not about public positions in government.
As mere "leaders of the ANC", an account before the integrity commission would go a long way to ease public fears, he said.
Magaxa said the party had a history of abuse of political power during former president Thabo Mbeki's tenure, and he thought that the party would have "learned its lesson".
"We don't want these things to happen again. It worries us that this is a road we've already travelled, and now it is starting to rear its ugly head, and we condemn that."
He cited recent complaints by South African Communist Party members that they were being illegally investigated by certain law enforcement organs.
The provincial ANC also discussed the escalating succession race for ANC president, which can be read here .
Fransman appeal to be heard this month
In a separate matter, the ANC also addressed the current suspension of provincial chairperson Marius Fransman.
Provincial secretary Faiez Jacobs repeated the province's condemnation of Fransman's actions, saying he has shown "gross disregard" for the ANC's disciplinary proceedings.
Jacobs said Fransman has continually undermined the internal processes of his disciplinary hearing, by going to the media to suggest there was a conspiracy and a "dark hand" to get rid of him.
He said his actions further promoted disunity and division in the organisation.
Fransman was suspended in January last year following internal disciplinary processes within the party after he was accused of sexually harassing 21-year-old Louisa Wynand during a trip to the party's January 8 celebrations.
The results of his appeal will be announced before the end of the month.
Fransman responded to the party's briefing on Monday, saying he noted with "despair" the continued "demise" of the organization he loves.
"The first communique of 2017 on the watch of caretaker comrades Khaya Magaxa and FaiezJacobs, rants about evasive unity in the face of continued self-styled factionalism; shamefully hides behind the honour of leaders now dishonoured by factionalism; and ignores completely the pressing matters of my uninterrupted urging: the continued betterment of my constituents, so blatantly dismissed by an ANC bent on self destruction," he said.
Fransman said the provincial branch continues to attack him despite respecting the structures to the "fullest extent".
He said it is a known fact that he has appealed his suspension, and that while the process is ongoing, his office remains intact.
This article first appeared on News24, see here.
