ANC mum on Bathabile Dlamini’s revelations

The ANC has refused to comment on whether they will be taking action against former social development and women’s affairs minister Bathabile Dlamini after a resignation letter in which she outlined various crimes she was aware of within the party.

These included claims that wives of ANC members were involved in seemingly dubious relationships with Cash Paymaster Services (CPS), the service provider whose contract with the department of social development was found by the court to have been illegally awarded.

During its Nasrec conference, the governing party acknowledged an “increase in corruption, factionalism, dishonesty and other negative practices that seriously threaten the goals and support of the ANC”.

The party announced that they would “demand that every cadre accused of, or reported to be involved in, corrupt practices accounts to the integrity committee … immediately faces a DC (disciplinary committee) process.

“The party will summarily suspend people who fail to give an accountable explanation or to voluntarily step down, while they face disciplinary, investigative or prosecutorial procedures.”

Despite this resolution and her letter in which she freely admits to being aware of criminal activity, without reporting it, which is in itself a crime, Dlamini still remains an executive member of the party and continues to serve as the president of the women’s league.

ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe said they would not be drawn into the matters she thrust into the spotlight through her resignation letter. He said it was simply a resignation and that they have “accepted it and done everything possible to make sure her position is filled accordingly”.

On Tuesday, the Democratic Alliance (DA) threatened to press criminal charges against Dlamini if she failed to “do the right thing” and report the alleged corruption she mentioned to law enforcement agencies within 48 hours.

DA social development shadow minister Bridget Masango said although Dlamini’s decision to resign was in the interests of the people “as she only served the interests of the ANC, the politically connected and herself”, the former minister had a long history of “dodging accountability”.

Masango said “the DA will give Dlamini 48 hours to report this alleged corruption to the police”.

“If she doesn’t, we will lay charges. We have already laid perjury charges against her following the ConCourt judgment requesting the National Prosecuting Authority to consider whether she should be prosecuted for lying under oath during her testimony at the Judge Bernard Ngoepe inquiry into the social grants crisis.”

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