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Mayor of Ekurhuleni, Mzwandile Masina. Image: @mzwandileMasina / Twitter
JOHANNESBURG – The mayor of Ekurhuleni and regional president of the African National Congress (ANC), Mzwandile Masina, has called on all members of the ruling party who are implicated in corruption allegations to stand aside until they are cleared of wrongdoing.
Masina organized a picket in front of the St Georges hotel in Pretoria on Saturday, where the ANC’s highest decision-making body, the National Executive Committee (NEC), was meeting amid allegations of corruption related to the procurement of goods and services for the government response to COVID. -19 pandemic.
Speaking to journalists, the mayor called on the NEC to implement the resolution from the December 2017 ANC conference that members implicated in corruption allegations should step aside to clear their names.
Masina called on the ANC not to deal with members implicated in corruption through faction lines.
“The 54th ANC national conference was very clear if it is accused of corruption. Resolution number two clearly states that once you are accused of corruption, you must approach the integrity commission to explain your version of events. But if a court accuses him, he should step aside, “he said.
NO MEMBER IS ABOVE ANC
Masina said that recent allegations of corruption reported in the media were negatively affecting the ANC. She said that no one in the party, including President Cyril Ramaphosa, was above the organization.
“Nobody is bigger than the ANC [and] We must save the ANC, not individuals because if we seek to save individuals, the ANC will perish, ”Masina said.
Masina said members of the ANC who had pending issues in court should also withdraw, including Ramaphosa.
“If there is a matter before the courts that involves the president, the president should step aside,” Masina said.
“It’s not about individuals, it’s about everyone who is in court. We call on the leaders to take a decisive step towards unity, do not target individuals because everyone is known in court, “he added.
Ramaphosa has been in court challenging the Public Protector’s report on his campaign finances for the ANC’s 2017 presidential race.
Before the ANC’s NEC meeting, one of the structure’s members, Tony Yengeni, reportedly asked Ramaphosa to lead by example and step aside after his letter last week in the one that said society viewed the ANC as “Defendant No. 1” for corruption. claim (es.
When asked about Yengeni’s statements, Masina could not say whether he supported them.
“I’m sure there should be reasons why you chose to ask the president to step aside…. Everyone who has a matter before the courts should step aside, ”he said.
In an unprecedented move on Friday, former President Jacob Zuma also responded to the letter, accusing his successor of betraying the ANC with his anti-corruption stance.
Zuma said he saw Ramaphosa’s letter “as a distraction, a public relations exercise in which you blame the entire ANC to save your own skin.”
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