Is loot propping up a bankrupt ANC?

We hope President Cyril Ramaphosa is not pushed into his default mode of being “shocked” by the news that debt collectors are sizing up the ANC’s family silver and might remove it for unpaid debt.

Attorneys following up on an unpaid account of more than R100 million are valuing various immovables in the ANC’s Luthuli House headquarters in downtown Joburg. If there is not enough value there – and that doesn’t seem likely – the entire building might be attached and sold off. (Mind you, given that the Joburg CBD, with its crime and decay is a metaphor for the country as a whole; don’t expect many takers for the property.)

The clear (actual) bankruptcy of the ANC – which has repeatedly been unable to even pay its employees on time – is not a surprise … but what is worrying is the prospect that at least some of the funds looted from the public purse may have been used to financially prop up the party.

Worse yet, there is the possibility that some in the ANC believe this sort of “expropriation” is not as bad as money which is stolen and used for personal enrichment.

Don’t expect energetic pursuit of thieves, then.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.