ANC to ‘sacrifice’ some to save Joburg’s Makhubo – political analyst

With no prosecuting of the alleged instigators of the VBS Mutual Bank looting and them even allowed to return to work by the ANC headquarters Luthuli House, the ruling party appears have gone for the low-hanging fruit from rural Gauteng municipalities.

The ANC has to sacrifice some and retain Joburg mayor Geoff Makhubo because it feared losing the city again to the opposition, according to a political analyst.

Dirk Kotze said if the ANC removed Makhubo, it wouldn’t have a better candidate to contest a DA-EFF force waiting in the wings to grab power.

Boyce Maneli, chair of the portfolio committee on communications, and Merafong mayor Maphefo Mogale-Letsie became easy targets for the ANC axe.

They had to be sacrificed to prove a point: that the provincial integrity committee (PIC) has teeth as pressure mounted for it to act against culprits in the Gauteng personal protection equipment (PPE) procurement saga.

To some, the decision came as a surprise because the provincial leadership did not challenge the decision. Maneli was punished for an R81-million deposit by a West Rand district into the defunct bank prior to its collapse.

Mogale-Letsie, who was hailed as the first female ANC chair in the West Rand, suffered the same fate due to R50-million deposited by Merafong.

“These two did not steal money; they were not directly involved in the VBS issue,” said a West Rand ANC member, who asked to remain anonymous.

He questions how, despite no forensic investigation done, Makhubo was cleared of any wrongdoing pertaining to allegations of corruption and financial impropriety involving his company, Molelwane Consulting.

Makhubo was alleged to have improperly benefitted from a R30-million contract with Regiments Capital, a company apparently linked to the Guptas and implicated in state capture.

Kotze said the ANC realised it would be difficult to replace Makhubo if elections were to be held to fill his position.

“There is no guarantee that the ANC would have another mayor in Joburg if Makhubo left – that is why they could not act against him. To replace him would mean new elections must be held and the ANC would have to get a 50% plus one majority, which it could not get last time,” Kotze said.

The analyst said the DA and the EFF would do all in their power to grab power back from the ANC and its smaller partners.

The current coalition was done behind their backs and they might want revenge.

Besides, Makhubo holds the more powerful position of chair of the Greater Johannesburg ANC region as he replaced Parks Tau, who became a member of the ANC provincial executive (PEC) in 2018.

The ANC currently rules the City in a coalition with smaller parties, including Cope and the Inkatha Freedom Party.

“If the ANC is to avoid losing all the metros in Gauteng in the 2021 local government election, Premier David Makhura needs to take action against corruption. If they don’t, they would lose even Ekurhuleni,” Kotze said.

– ericn@citizen.co.za; additional reporting News24 Wire

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