ANC ‘making arrangements’ to pay staff salaries before Christmas

The African National Congress (ANC) says it is making arrangements to pay its staff their salaries as Christmas draws closer.

ANC’s ongoing financial crisis has been affecting the party’s workers for some time resulting in delays of salary payments.

Salaries

The party’s general-manager Febe Potgieter, on 30 November, issued a letter to staff members informing them that there would be another delay.

In the letter, Potgieter “guaranteed” the disgruntled workers that they would receive their money by 15 December.

While the party has failed to honor its promise, ANC treasurer-general, Paul Mashatile assured the workers that the money should be in their accounts before Christmas.

“With respect to staff and [their] salaries, we are making arrangements that they should receive something before Christmas,” he told the media in Ekurhuleni.

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Mashatile yet again blamed the new Political Party Funding Act for the ANC’s financial struggles.

“The challenge we have, if I may repeat it again, is that 70 percent of our income comes from the private sector and the law requiring disclosure saw many people pull back their funding. So we struggle to raise funds,” he said.

He further said the ANC has proposed to government to increase the R100,000 threshold of the Act as one of the solution to the party’s money problems.

The party has also resorted to crowdfunding, increasing membership fees and levies, and agreeing with provincial structures “to take over the salary bill”.

‘Empty promises ‘

The ANC has been experiencing cash flow problems for months, with some staff not being paid since September this year, according to the ruling party’s member, Carl Niehaus.

“We keep getting empty promises from the ANC management, the last time the ANC paid its staff was in August this year, staffers have not been paid for September, October, November and now December. It’s five months of no payment and we are heading to Christmas Day,” Niehaus told Jacaranda FM.

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Speaking to Newzroom Afrika, ANC staff committee chair, Mvusi Mdala reiterated that the party does not care about its workers.

“We are being treated in an immoral and inhumane way. If we have leadership that lack those values of selflessness, we will find a situation of workers being treated the way that we are,” he said.

The staff members had threatened to take legal action after accusing the ANC’s leadership of allegedly making Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) and medical aid deductions from their salaries, but not paying them over to the relevant entities.

The Citizen previously reported that the ANC owes R17 million to the South African Revenue Service (Sars) for unpaid taxes and Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax.