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- Lobbyist AfriForum has asked the Public Protector to investigate why the ANC used a military plane to visit Zanu-PF leaders in Zimbabwe.
- It has also launched its own investigation into what it said was a misappropriation of Air Force assets by high-level members of the ANC.
- AfriForum said it wanted to determine if the correct channels were followed and if the use of state assets had been authorized.
Lobbyist AfriForum has written to Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane, asking him to investigate the use of a military aircraft by the ANC on its trip to Harare, Zimbabwe.
In a letter to Mkhwebane, AfriForum’s Willie Spies said he should investigate whether Defense Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula had consulted with Finance Minister Tito Mboweni before setting out on the trip; if this delegation was authorized and accredited by the Department of International Relations and Cooperative Governance; and what was an appropriate sanction or corrective action if deemed necessary.
This comes after News24 reported that the ANC had been accused of abusing state resources because it used a government-sponsored plane to conduct party business.
The ANC was seen arriving in Harare on a South African Air Force jet for a planned meeting with Zanu-PF.
At the meeting, it was agreed that there was no “crisis” ravaging Zimbabwe, but that the country faced “challenges”. On Thursday, the ministry spokesman Siphiwe Dlamini said the ANC meeting had coincided with the official work of Minister Mapisa-Nqakula. “The ANC meeting in Zimbabwe coincided with the meeting of the Minister of Defense and Military Veterans, who was traveling to Zimbabwe to meet with its counterpart in preparation for a meeting of the SADC Troika and the reconfiguration of the UN Intervention Force, which comprises troops from the SADC Region, “he said.
Read | ANC meets with Zimbabwe’s ruling party over the country’s problems
AfriForum also launched its own investigation Thursday into what it said was an alleged misappropriation of Air Force assets by high-level members of the ANC.
Spies said that the lobbyists’ legal representatives had also written to the Minister for International Relations and Cooperative Government, Naledi Pandor, as well as Mapisa-Ngakula, asking them to explain whether the Air Force plane had been used legally.
“First, the use of the assets must be in the public interest. Second, the Minister of Defense must approve the use of the assets in consultation with the Minister of Finance,” said Monique Taute of AfriForum.
AfriForum said it wanted to determine if the correct channels were followed and if the use of state assets had been authorized.
He added that the country could not allow members of the ruling “elite” to misappropriate state assets as if they were their property. “We will take the matter further if it appears that the politicians violated the legislation,” Taute said.
