Tell of your graft sins, we won’t judge you, ANC tells members
The ruling party will not act against its members implicated by former Bosasa COO Angelo Agrizzi in allegations of bribery right now.
ANC head of elections Fikile Mbalula, centre. Picture: Siphephile Sibanyoni/ African News agency/ ANA
The ANC has asked members implicated in the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture to go and answer for their sins, saying the party will not judge them on the basis of public perceptions emanating from the recent commission’s testimonies.
The ANC head of elections, Fikile Mbalula, said the ruling party would not act against its senior members implicated by former Bosasa COO Angelo Agrizzi in allegations of bribery, until the evidence was tested in a court of law.
Mbalula said some of the things coming out of the commission were, if true, “horrendous”.
Where the ANC was implicated, the party was prepared to give evidence before the commission because it supported its work.
“We respect that commission. It is doing its job. We will explain to the people of South Africa because, as the ANC, we are committed to undoing the wrongs,” Mbalula said.
Despite this, they would not act on calls that they must suspend or remove certain ministers named by Agrizzi. He said as the ANC members were not deployed by the ANC to commit acts of corruption, they must account individually to the commission.
“If Mbalula was involved in the exchange of money, he must answer for that himself, not the organisation,” he said.
“The commission is the platform, the judge will make up his mind. We never said we will take collective responsibility, at the same time we will never judge our comrades on the basis of perceptions. What Agrizzi said, whether it’s true or not, will be tested, but we must give the commission a chance,” Mbalula said.
“The ANC cannot suspend or act against anyone just for being mentioned at the commission. When was it ever like that?”
Mbalula also said the misunderstanding between him and former president Jacob Zuma has been laid to rest, in reference to the tiff between him and Zuma on Twitter, after he questioned the former president on breaching protocol.
Yesterday, Mbalula said he was reprimanded by the party for raising the matter on Twitter and he had accepted the reprimand.
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