ANC Joburg accused of spending millions to ‘buy votes’ – report

The City of Johannesburg used R3.6 million for a project meant to solicit votes for the ANC in the run-up to the 2016 local government elections, Sowetan Live reports.

The publication reports that according to a document it has seen, the ANC administration that governed the metro at the time approved the amount to be used for a voter registration and education drive to urge residents to vote.

The current administration, led by the DA, intends to launch a probe into why the amount had been approved for the drive, it is further reported.

The document reportedly states that seven contractual municipal outreach coordinators and 70 contractual municipal fieldworkers would be employed for the project. However, Johannesburg council speaker Vasco da Gama said an estimated 97 individuals had been employed at R5 000 a month.

Da Gama unearthed the document last week, and said the City wanted to launch a probe into corruption during the ANC’s term, The Sowetan reports.

Da Gama was quoted as saying that during the voter registration and education drive, people with ANC pamphlets were used for electioneering.

The speaker said the contractual workers were let go in 2017 January after they had not performed any duties in the aftermath of the local government elections in the previous year.

The ANC in Johannesburg, however, told the publication that there had been no wrongdoing with regards to the drive, as it sought to encourage residents to vote or check their registration status, calling this an important programme that would reduce the number of spoiled ballots.

It was further reported the party’s regional spokesperson, Jolidee Matongo, said the ANC would support the DA were it to run a similar drive leading up to next year’s elections.

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