Magashule: Steenhuisen can’t tell ANC what to do

ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule has denied there is any crisis in the governing party brought about by his refusal to step aside after being charged with corruption last month.

Magashule did a walkabout in the Ramaphosa informal settlement in Ekurhuleni’s ward 42 where by-elections took place on Wednesday. He was flanked by Ekurhuleni Mayor Mzwandile Masina.

“The ANC is not in any crisis,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the walkabout. “We had a wonderful meeting where all of us extended our views and in the end the collective came to conclusions, and that is how we functioned.”

This in reference to the party’s three-day national executive committee (NEC) meeting on the Zoom platform, where Magashule agreed to appear in front of the integrity commission over the weekend.

The ANC’s NEC affirmed a suggestion by Magashule that he would appear before the body of elders led by ANC veteran George Mashamba after he was charged with 21 counts of corruption, fraud and money laundering related to an allegedly corrupt asbestos tender in the Free State.

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Legally

Magashule said the ANC did not just deal with issues legally, but also dealt with them politically.

“The ANC has its own processes and I think in the NEC we call upon all leaders to deal with matters internally, so it will be out of order for me to try deal with this matter outside of the structures of the ANC.”

Magashule added the integrity commission was part of this internal process, and he immediately approached them once he was charged to appear before the court last month.

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He said those who were waiting for “a big announcement” would be disappointed, and lashed out at DA leader John Steenhuisen who said the “slap on the wrist” for Magashule by the ANC was a “slap in the face” of South Africans.

“Steenhuisen can’t tell the ANC what to do, and he should be aware of this,” Magashule added.

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