Ace Magashule’s party ACT suspects spies had infiltrated it

Ace Magashule’s African Congress for Transformation (ACT) said it could not rule out the possibility of rogue elements among its ranks.

ACT has no formal structures

This comes after some members of the party publicly resigned from the party, complaining about lack of funding sent to the Mpumalanga province. They described themselves as Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) members.

ALSO READ: Ace Magashule on election rigging: ‘Our eyes are going to be open, because we know’

But ACT spokesperson Mohau Khumalo said ACT had no elected PEC members and that everyone was volunteering for the party until official structures are set up.

“The reason why we are not in a rush to set up positions is that we are a very inclusive party and we want the right people to come. Now we have coordinators that are coordinating districts and provinces,” he said.

Concerns over rogue elements

Khumalo said the party was disappointed in the behaviour of some of the volunteers who paraded themselves as elected leaders of the Mpumalanga province and portrayed their unhappiness to the media instead of raising the issues internally.

ALSO READ: Big blow for Magashule in the Free State

“Its possible that they are spies. There are many possibilities we do not know. If they were part of us, and they were following the guidelines of this party, they would have written a grievance and probably come and engage with us but they never did that,” he said.

Khumalo said ACT was a big party led by respected leaders such as Magashule, which made it attractive for people with other motives.

“You cannot avoid spies, it is not written on their foreheads. It is sad when people want to leave, they call press conferences. Spies are not written, we are a big organisation and we will attract all sorts of things but the ocean always cleanses itself,” Khumalo said.

Recently, the MK party had expelled some of its members who were suspected of being spies or rogue, including the party’s co-founder Jabulani Khumalo.

Political analyst Piet Croucamp said parties who had broken off from the ANC were quite sensitive when it came to accusations of spies and infiltrations.

Meanwhile, ACT said it remained committed to its alignment with “progressive” parties such as the MK party.

ALSO READ: ConCourt dismisses Labour Party, ACT and AASD’s applications to postpone elections