Accusations fly as Gauteng ANC leadership race hots up

Allegations of “abuse of state resources to silence political opponents” have become common in some ANC circles, especially by those defending themselves while being under investigation for corruption.

With the ANC provincial elective conference set for next month, intense lobbying for leadership is in full swing and tensions are rising over who will be elected to the powerful “top six”, which includes the chairperson, deputy and secretary.

Gauteng ANC provincial acting chairperson and premier David Makhura fired the first salvo, calling on the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to investigate the department of agriculture led by MEC Lebogang Maile, who has been endorsed by the provincial ANC Youth League (ANCYL) as a candidate for deputy chairperson.

Makhura has also placed the troubled Emfuleni Municipality under administration, leading to mayor Jacob Khawe resigning in protest. Khawe has been endorsed by the ANCYL for the position of party provincial secretary.

Makhura’s detractors allege he is “abusing state resources to purge political opponents”, but he said nothing would deter him from taking action against wrongdoing because of the upcoming provincial ANC conference.

For an expert analysis, The Citizen spoke to two respected political commentators, Unisa-based policy and political analyst Dr Somadoda Fikeni and University of Johannesburg’s professor of political science Dr Mcebisi Ndletyana.

While Fikeni spoke in broad terms, refraining from referring specifically to Gauteng ANC politics, Ndletyana was forthright, describing the ANC as “a government of thieves”.

Fikeni said: “It’s important to investigate misuse of state resources like corruption, because the public needs answers. But there are also instances where investigations cover certain crimes without reporting outcomes.

“You see the SIU hard at work over years but nothing comes out. Like commissions of inquiry, they come up with recommendations which are never followed, creating an impression that they are merely meant for political management.”

Ndletyana said while South Africa had a history of use of public resources to deal with political opponents, “when politicians are put under investigation, we should not necessarily assume there is malice”.

It was important to establish if there was a reason for the investigation by “looking at the merits of each case”.

He said competition for high office, as seen in the run-up to the Gauteng elective conference, was not new and did not mean the Gauteng government’s current investigations were tainted.

For more news your way, follow The Citizen on Facebook and Twitter.