President Cyril Ramaphosa’s letter to ANC members was always bound to elicit two reactions: corrosive cynicism and controversy, especially among the intended recipients. In fact it was never meant for them, but the wider public, the victims of the corruption in which the governing party is mired.
ANC members know exactly what is going on in their party. They know the resolutions agreed in the many national conferences, and need no reminding. At the core of their cynicism lies double standards around the application of rules and procedures, not the SA rule of law or constitution but the ANC’s own ways and means of dealing with deviant behaviour.
To be fair to the president, there was a lot of good in his seven-page missive, even though this was fatally undermined by the unanswered questions raised by the very idea of the letter. Its reflections are worthy of consideration. As well as urging ANC members to respect the constitution of the republic, it is correct in its conclusion:
“Today, the ANC and its leaders stand accused of corruption. The ANC may not stand alone in the dock, but it does stand as Accused No 1. This is the stark reality that we must now confront. At its last meeting, at the beginning of August, the ANC national executive committee recognised the justifiable public outrage cause by recent reports of corruption. It said these developments ‘cause us collectively to dip our heads in shame and to humble ourselves before the people’.”
After the national executive committee meeting not only did Ramaphosa denounce corruption in his weekly diary, A Letter from the President, but he went further, setting up an interministerial team to deal with coronavirus procurement corruption. So far so good, right? Wrong. In recent weeks the following developments have taken place to undermine not only the 2017 ANC resolutions but also the rule of law.
Earlier in the month Khusela Diko, the president’s own press secretary, and Gauteng health MEC Bandile Masuku, were placed on special leave pending the outcome of investigations into allegations around Gauteng’s procurement of protective personal equipment (PPE), masks and gloves for health workers.
Earlier, the ANC in Limpopo reinstated two officials — Danny Msiza and Florence Radzilani — to their positions in the party. And then last Thursday the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal allowed former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede to be sworn in as member of the provincial legislature. This makes her eligible for selection as an MEC, though she is out on bail after being charged with tender corruption.
In September former ANC president Jacob Zuma returns to court to face corruption charges. Until he took ill a few months ago Zuma was attending national executive committee meetings of the ANC whenever he could. Yet the ANC resolutions required that people facing allegations of corruption should step aside or be suspended if they fail to give satisfactory explanation.
It is these double standards that make members of the ANC cynical. It would seem from the preceding cases that there are two ANCs — the Gauteng ANC applies conference resolutions without protest, while others such as the KwaZulu-Natal ANC and Limpopo ANC appear to have a flexible definition of what the conference resolutions demand of members.
Last Wednesday ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule, himself a subject of serious allegations, wrote to all provincial chairs and secretaries of the ANC demanding a meeting to discuss all cases where ANC leaders face criminal charges and/or internal disciplinary proceedings, as well as a report on actions and steps taken against ANC members and public representatives accused of abusing food parcels and other Covid-19 relief measures.
With all these steps under way, the main question that arises from Ramaphosa’s letter is why he felt the need to write a letter directly to ANC members. Or was it actually for wider public consumption to manage the real public perception that the ANC is soft on corruption, especially among its own ranks?
It is significant that the letter made no mention of the Magashule-led process, including a requirement for members to fill in a form of declaration listing their interests, assets and income.
With international financiers, including the IMF, watching SA’s handling of its economy, which has been battered by Covid-19 and multiple credit rating downgrades, it is hard to believe that Ramaphosa was merely addressing ANC members: in the absence of high-profile prosecutions and convictions the letter appears to be an attempt to communicate a warning that those accused of corruption will be brought to account.
Unfortunately, successful prosecutions and convictions are a function of empowering the foot soldiers in the investigative and prosecutorial services rather than changing the top echelons of the institutions. Otherwise the swirl of cynicism and controversy will continue.
• Dludlu, a former Sowetan editor, is CEO of the Small Business Institute
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