The ANC’s national leadership is still waiting for a report from the party’s integrity commission before taking “decisive action” against those facing criminal charges in court.
Secretary-general Gwede Mantashe told the Daily Dispatch yesterday that the leadership had no immediate plans to dissolve the party’s Buffalo City Metro (BCM) regional committee.
This revelation comes less than a week after the national leadership, led by President Jacob Zuma, dissolved the regional leadership in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro.
Speaking during a visit to King William’s Town yesterday, Mantashe said that despite stability in the municipality’s administration since Ben Fihla took over as mayor earlier this year, the regional ANC leadership was dissolved for “lack of visible upward mobility”.
“The ANC is expecting people to do what is expected them, and if you do not do what you were meant to do the ANC will be harsh in dealing with those situations,’’ Mantashe said.
“Yes, there is stability in that metro since we had Fihla as mayor.
“However, we do not want the metro to be only stable.
“There should be visible upward mobility as well, and that is what we are not seeing there.”
He said “you cannot have the biggest metro in the Eastern Cape moving at a snail’s pace” in a number of areas.
“Stability is a different matter – it means there are no troubles or turbulence,” said Mantashe.
Three senior party members serving in the regional executive have spent most of this year in courts of law after being charged with various unrelated transgressions.
ANC regional chairwoman Zukisa Faku, the party’s MP in the National Assembly, had her fraud and corruption case postponed to March next year by the East London Magistrate’s Court. She has been charged for alleged misuse of a municipal credit card while on an official trip abroad when she was still mayor more than three years ago.
Regional secretary Pumlani Mkolo and treasurer Temba Tinta are expected back at the same court on February 25.
The pair are part of a group facing charges relating to the Nelson Mandela memorial funds scandal, when about R6-million of municipal funds meant for services around Mandela’s death were allegedly used for other purposes.
They are appearing together with various ANC metro politicians including mayor Zukiswa Ncitha, council speaker Luleka Simon-Ndzele and mayoral committee member Sindiswa Gomba.
Mantashe said there were no immediate plans to dissolve the regional leadership.
He said implicated leaders had already appeared before the party’s integrity commission and any decisive action would be taken after the party had received a report from the commission.
“One of ANC’s Mangaung resolutions says people who are having serious charges against them must step aside,’’ Mantashe said.
“However, that resolution goes further to say there must be integrity commissions at all levels of the party to deal with such problems.
“Hence, we are waiting for that commission to guide us on the matter that involves these BCM comrades.”
Mantashe was in the province yesterday to give an overview to the media of the party’s performance in the past year.
He said the party had done “very well in a year where there were all sorts of negative predictions”, and he cited various victories in by-elections across the country over the past year as a yardstick to measure the party’s continued popularity. — asandan@dispatch.co.za
ANC has no plans to censure BCM leaders
Secretary-general Gwede Mantashe told the Daily Dispatch yesterday that the leadership had no immediate plans to dissolve the party’s Buffalo City Metro (BCM) regional committee.
This revelation comes less than a week after the national leadership, led by President Jacob Zuma, dissolved the regional leadership in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro.
Speaking during a visit to King William’s Town yesterday, Mantashe said that despite stability in the municipality’s administration since Ben Fihla took over as mayor earlier this year, the regional ANC leadership was dissolved for “lack of visible upward mobility”.
“The ANC is expecting people to do what is expected them, and if you do not do what you were meant to do the ANC will be harsh in dealing with those situations,’’ Mantashe said.
“Yes, there is stability in that metro since we had Fihla as mayor.
“However, we do not want the metro to be only stable.
“There should be visible upward mobility as well, and that is what we are not seeing there.”
He said “you cannot have the biggest metro in the Eastern Cape moving at a snail’s pace” in a number of areas.
“Stability is a different matter – it means there are no troubles or turbulence,” said Mantashe.
Three senior party members serving in the regional executive have spent most of this year in courts of law after being charged with various unrelated transgressions.
ANC regional chairwoman Zukisa Faku, the party’s MP in the National Assembly, had her fraud and corruption case postponed to March next year by the East London Magistrate’s Court. She has been charged for alleged misuse of a municipal credit card while on an official trip abroad when she was still mayor more than three years ago.
Regional secretary Pumlani Mkolo and treasurer Temba Tinta are expected back at the same court on February 25.
The pair are part of a group facing charges relating to the Nelson Mandela memorial funds scandal, when about R6-million of municipal funds meant for services around Mandela’s death were allegedly used for other purposes.
They are appearing together with various ANC metro politicians including mayor Zukiswa Ncitha, council speaker Luleka Simon-Ndzele and mayoral committee member Sindiswa Gomba.
Mantashe said there were no immediate plans to dissolve the regional leadership.
He said implicated leaders had already appeared before the party’s integrity commission and any decisive action would be taken after the party had received a report from the commission.
“One of ANC’s Mangaung resolutions says people who are having serious charges against them must step aside,’’ Mantashe said.
“However, that resolution goes further to say there must be integrity commissions at all levels of the party to deal with such problems.
“Hence, we are waiting for that commission to guide us on the matter that involves these BCM comrades.”
Mantashe was in the province yesterday to give an overview to the media of the party’s performance in the past year.
He said the party had done “very well in a year where there were all sorts of negative predictions”, and he cited various victories in by-elections across the country over the past year as a yardstick to measure the party’s continued popularity. — asandan@dispatch.co.za
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