ANC ‘enforces’ step-aside rule on Mosebenzi Zwane after arrest on corruption charges

ANC MP and the chairperson of Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Transport, Mosebenzi Zwane, will step aside following his court appearance.

ANC chief whip Pemmy Majodina indicated that Zwane would communicate with the ruling party’s treasurer-general Paul Mashatile’s office about voluntarily stepping aside from his duties.

Zwane, who was an MEC in the Free State, has also agreed to present himself to the ANC’s integrity commission, according to Majodina.

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“The office of the chief whip notes that there are organisational processes that will unfold and has agreed with [Comrade] Zwane that he will present himself to the ANC integrity commission and communicate with the office of the treasurer-general in order to voluntarily follow the ANC step-aside procedure in line with ANC national conference resolution,” she said in a statement on Wednesday.

The step-aside rule was adopted at the party’s 54th national conference in 2017, although ANC members have demanded that the policy be scrapped as they believe that the regulations were “killing” the ruling party.

The policy, which was retained by the ANC in July, requires party members who are criminally charged to voluntarily step aside pending the conclusion of their cases.

Arrest

Zwane made his first appearance in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday and was granted bail of R10 000.

The former mineral resources and energy minister was arrested on corruption charges related to the controversial Estina/Vrede dairy farm project along with former Gupta employees, Ugeshni Govender and Ronica Ragavan.

The trio faces charges of fraud, theft, money laundering and corruption in connection with the Estina dairy farm project in the Free State, where more than R200 million of public funds that were meant to empower black farmers were looted.

Zwane was the MEC for agriculture and rural development in the province at the time of the project.

READ MORE: Estina dairy project: Guptas were pulling Magashule, Zwane’s strings

The dairy project has been embroiled in allegations of state capture after it emerged that it was a front for money laundering and the source of funds for the Guptas’ lavish wedding at Sun City resort in 2013.

The spokesperson for the NPA’s Investigating Directorate, Sindisiwe Seboka, said a total of 15 people were implicated in the case and more arrests were expected.

The case has been postponed to 2 November 2022.

Meanwhile, Majodina further said: “As the ANC caucus, we will continue to monitor the situation and will not comment further on the charges against [Comrade] Zwane as we want to allow the law to take its course.”

Additional reporting by Getrude Makhafola and Thapelo Lekabe