A war of words erupted yesterday between ANC provincial secretary Oscar Mabuyane and former Nelson Mandela Bay Metro mayor Zanoxolo Wayile.
This after Wayile accused ANC provincial chairman Phumulo Masualle and Mabuyane of making the ANC provincial structure “a gambling zone” for tenderpreneurs to milk the metro’s coffers dry.
At the centre of the conflict are the metro’s Kabuso and Pikoli reports, which Wayile claimed Masualle and Mabuyane wanted shelved to protect “the image of the ANC”.
Wayile spoke to the Daily Dispatch following an interview with a Port Elizabeth- based community radio station.
In the interview, Wayile, the provincial organiser of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa), gave his perspective on events leading to the “paralysis” of the ANC in the metro.
He said there had been a lot of political interference during his tenure as mayor.
“We were under pressure from the PEC to do away with the Kabuso and Pikoli reports,” said Wayile, who is also the acting secretary of the new United Front, a Numsa-driven civic organisation.
Both reports uncovered gross irregularities in the running of the metro and implicated then-regional ANC chairman Nceba Faku.
Wayile said R100million “swindled out of the bus transit tender” had enriched individuals. “But there are no buses on the streets.”
He alleged the ANC’s national executive committee and PEC gave orders to bury the reports. But Mabuyane hit back, saying Wayile suffered from “paranoia”.
“When he claimed there were tenderpreneurs who were milking the metro dry I asked him to produce evidence. He has not produced a single document.
“When the Kabuso report was out, it was presented to council and it implicated Nceba Faku. But the National Prosecuting Authority said it was in no position to open a case against Faku.
“Did Wayile expect us to overlook that and still insist on an arrest? Is he a police officer, or a prosecutor or a magistrate? We are not going to allow an individual to use the ANC for his own interests.”
The war of words between the two comes a few days after the ANC top brass announced a task team to lead the region.
But Wayile said if the ANC wanted to regain lost ground at branch level, it would have to disband the PEC.
“We have a regional task team, but we also need a provincial task team.
“The PEC of Phumulo and Mabuyane is just a political gambling zone,” said Wayile.
He accused both ANC President Jacob Zuma’s national executive committee and Masualle’s PEC of turning a blind eye to reports the metro was being run into the ground. This included an open letter by clergy as well as the Nelson Mandela Chamber of Business pointing out the “paralysis” in the running of the country’s fifth biggest metro.
Mabuyane said it was “very immature” of Wayile to blame others when he had been given time to run the metro. “Instead he ran it to the drains,” said Mabuyane.
Ex-mayor, Mabuyane in war of words
This after Wayile accused ANC provincial chairman Phumulo Masualle and Mabuyane of making the ANC provincial structure “a gambling zone” for tenderpreneurs to milk the metro’s coffers dry.
At the centre of the conflict are the metro’s Kabuso and Pikoli reports, which Wayile claimed Masualle and Mabuyane wanted shelved to protect “the image of the ANC”.
Wayile spoke to the Daily Dispatch following an interview with a Port Elizabeth- based community radio station.
In the interview, Wayile, the provincial organiser of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa), gave his perspective on events leading to the “paralysis” of the ANC in the metro.
He said there had been a lot of political interference during his tenure as mayor.
“We were under pressure from the PEC to do away with the Kabuso and Pikoli reports,” said Wayile, who is also the acting secretary of the new United Front, a Numsa-driven civic organisation.
Both reports uncovered gross irregularities in the running of the metro and implicated then-regional ANC chairman Nceba Faku.
Wayile said R100million “swindled out of the bus transit tender” had enriched individuals. “But there are no buses on the streets.”
He alleged the ANC’s national executive committee and PEC gave orders to bury the reports. But Mabuyane hit back, saying Wayile suffered from “paranoia”.
“When he claimed there were tenderpreneurs who were milking the metro dry I asked him to produce evidence. He has not produced a single document.
“When the Kabuso report was out, it was presented to council and it implicated Nceba Faku. But the National Prosecuting Authority said it was in no position to open a case against Faku.
“Did Wayile expect us to overlook that and still insist on an arrest? Is he a police officer, or a prosecutor or a magistrate? We are not going to allow an individual to use the ANC for his own interests.”
The war of words between the two comes a few days after the ANC top brass announced a task team to lead the region.
But Wayile said if the ANC wanted to regain lost ground at branch level, it would have to disband the PEC.
“We have a regional task team, but we also need a provincial task team.
“The PEC of Phumulo and Mabuyane is just a political gambling zone,” said Wayile.
He accused both ANC President Jacob Zuma’s national executive committee and Masualle’s PEC of turning a blind eye to reports the metro was being run into the ground. This included an open letter by clergy as well as the Nelson Mandela Chamber of Business pointing out the “paralysis” in the running of the country’s fifth biggest metro.
Mabuyane said it was “very immature” of Wayile to blame others when he had been given time to run the metro. “Instead he ran it to the drains,” said Mabuyane.
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