Vryheid KZN – DA wants ANC regional chair to step down

Lolo Madonsela
Following the announcement by President Cyril Ramaphosa last week that all those formally charged with corruption must immediately step down from all official positions, the DA in the province has called on the ANC to act on the president’s directive.
In December 2018, ANC Mzala Nxumalo Region Secretary Zakes Buthelezi was charged with bribery and corruption, together with two ANC councillors in AbaQulusi Local Municipality. The two councillors are Cllr Maria Mabaso, who serves as Chief Whip, and Cllr Ntombiyephahla Mdlalose, who serves as Chairperson of the Women’s Committee.
They were caught by the Hawks allegedly attempting to pay a R20,000 bribe to DA councillor Magda Viktor in order to persuade the councillor to vote with the ANC on a vote of ‘no confidence’ against the IFP speaker, Michel Khumalo, or remain absent from the meeting.
When the Vryheid Herald broke the story, the DA leader in the province, Zwakele Mncwango, confirmed that the trio had initially offered Cllr Viktor R40,000, which they later decreased to R20,000.
Cllr Viktor alerted her leader that she had been propositioned by these ANC members, and the DA then contacted the Hawks. This meant that when she was handed the cash at Vryheid Junction, the Hawks were ready to take action.

Also read: BREAKING: High-ranking ANC members in Vryheid arrested after paying a bribe to DA councillor

Following the president’s announcement, Mncwango issued a statement saying that the trio should step down from their positions.
“Following the ANC’s announcement on Thursday that all members formally charged with corruption must immediately step aside from all official positions pending finalisation of their cases and that they must also appear before the party’s Integrity Commission, it is only right that these three councillors step down. The Democratic Alliance (DA) in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) has written to the ANC’s KZN leadership, including chairperson Sihle Zikalala and provincial secretary Mdumiseni Ntuli, requesting them to walk the talk on the issue of fighting corruption,” said Mncwango.
He further stated that, “The truth is that the trio should have stepped aside a long time ago. Despite the serious charges against them, these public representatives have been continuing with their normal work in the municipality, with no accountability at all for this gross alleged act of corruption. If the ANC is serious about fighting corruption and protecting public funds, then they must act against the alleged perpetrators instead of protecting them. While those who are alleged to be corrupt are still milking public funds, the words of Zikalala and that of President Cyril Ramaphosa will simply be that, just words. Zikalala has constantly emphasised the importance of rooting out corruption in KwaZulu-Natal, but to no avail. We urge him to act on the matter with the urgency it deserves.”
The trio appeared in the Vryheid Magistrate’s Court on Monday and the case was postponed to October 8.
Cllr Viktor said, “This case should go to trial now, because it has been dragging for a while since it was postponed in June due to Covid-19. I believe that there should be a positive outcome of the case, because it is a water-tight case. I do not want to say much about the case, as it is still pending. However, the president’s call is clear; they should step down.”
Responding to the DA’s call, the charged Buthelezi said that the DA needed to not interfere with ANC matters. “That’s the ANC’s decision and it should be processed by the ANC on its own schedule.”
ANC provincial spokesperson Nhlakanipho Ntombela confirmed that the ANC received a letter from the DA, but clarified that the ANC had its own processes of handling such matters.
“It was the ANC in province that first initiated this stance and then the NEC has now adopted it. Since last week, we have been consolidating the list from all our regions of those implicated in corruption. Unfortunately, I cannot confirm with the secretary if all regions have submitted the names, since he is in the NEC meeting. However, this is a process we are looking into finalising by the end of this week. Once all the lists have been consolidated and sent to NEC, the secretary will then write letters to each of those implicated individuals to alert them that they need to step aside,” said Ntombela.

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