The co-ordinator in a newly created unit in the ANC secretary-general’s office responsible for driving the party’s programmes, Gwen Ramokgopa, says to root out corruption and theft of the public purse, the party should expel individuals whose hands have been caught in the cookie jar.
Ramokgopa, who was appointed co-ordinator of the unit, which is at the heart of the party’s operations, said on Wednesday this was the best way to ensure that the country moves forward.
“Those in government that have been [entrusted] with the resources of the state ... and we find them with their hands in the kitty jar ... must face the cruellest punishment that we can mete against them and within the ANC we must actually ensure that we are expelling those that steal from the poor,” she said.
The issue of stepping aside has become a high-profile matter in the party. Women’s League president Bathabile Dlamini is awaiting her fate on similar grounds after she was convicted of perjury and she opted to pay a fine of R200,000. Mandla Msibi, who was elected treasurer at the recent Mpumalanga conference, has agreed to step aside following charges of murder.
Ramokgopa, who is largely viewed by President Cyril Ramaphosa’s political rivals in the ANC as a key ally of the president, was brought in by the national executive committee to fill the void left by suspended secretary-general Ace Magashule and his deputy, Jessie Duarte, who is on sick leave.
Among Ramokgopa’s roles as the co-ordinator is to ensure that the party’s expected 4,000 delegates qualify to elect new leaders at the national conference in December.
Her appointment was not without controversy, with Magashule saying she was parachuted to the office to do the president’s bidding before the elections in December, where Ramaphosa is likely to seek re-election. She has denied those allegations. Prior to her appointment Ramokgopa was an adviser of the president at the Union Buildings.
Her comments come as the party convenes its regional and provincial conferences. She told party members on Wednesday that going into the conferences, the party should eliminate factionalism, which has weakened it and resulted in poor showings in the local government election.
“They [opposition parties] did not win but we handed it over because we fought amongst ourselves,” she said at a function to commemorate the death of Umkhonto we Sizwe veteran Solomon Mahlangu.
She said the ANC had more leaders than there were positions and those who go into leadership must be spotless and also be held accountable.
Factions
“Anyone that says [they] are a member of a faction must [form their own organisation].”
Her message resonated with that of Ramaphosa, who last week all but conceded that the prevalence of factions within the party is hampering his renewal programme.
Ramokgopa previously told Business Day that Ramaphosa’s return for a second term as party president would be beneficial as it would give him an opportunity to continue implementing structural reforms.
Political analyst Ebrahim Fakir said an ANC victory in the 2024 elections is unlikely unless the issues of factions are dealt with “more decisively”.
Analyst Lukhona Mnguni said the ANC’s step-aside resolution “has been minimised into a legalistic approach, which is problematic because a person being charged does not mean they are guilty”.
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