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By Sihle Mavuso 
2h ago
Durban – The ANC’s National Executive Committee (NEC) has decided that all of its members facing serious criminal charges have 30 days to withdraw or face disciplinary action.
This resolution comes amid the ruling party’s efforts to clean up its battered image and regain the lost public trust that has been lost after a series of corruption scandals.
Announcing the decision in closing the heated NEC meeting, Ramaphosa said that once a full list is released, affected members will be informed accordingly and should step aside thereafter.
While the list of members who are required to step aside will be finalized after all provinces have made their contributions to the office of the secretary general, Ace Magashule, these are some of the high-profile cases in the public domain. .
Jacob Zuma
Zuma faces corruption charges at the Pietermaritzburg High Court and his case returns to court in May this year. The former president of the ANC and the country, who participates in ANC NEC meetings in his ex officio capacity, is accused of pocketing bribes during the multibillion dollar arms deal of the late 1990s.
Zuma also faces a contempt of court charge after he defied a directive from the Constitutional Court when it ordered him to appear before the Zondo commission and answer all questions posed to him. So he faces a possible two-year jail term, as proposed by the commission.
Ace magashule
The ruling party’s subordinate general secretary is currently facing corruption charges in the Bloemfontein Magistrates Court for his role in the 2013 asbestos project that cost the provincial government of the Free State 255 million rand. At the time of the project, Magashule was prime minister and allegedly asked for donations from some of the recipients of the tender and this was done on behalf of some disadvantaged students in the province. The case returns to court in August this year.
Sindiswa Gomba
The controversial former MEC for Health in the Eastern Cape was fired last month for its role in looting state funds during the Nelson Mandela memorial services in December 2013. After his arrest with Zukiswa Ncitha, among others, the ANC in Eastern Cape, suspended her. With the new resolution, she is forced to leave her role as a member of the provincial executive committee of the ruling party.
Danny Msiza
Msiza, treasurer of the ruling party in Limpopo, faces fraud and money laundering charges stemming from the collapse of VBS Mutual Bank. The State alleges that it played a role when the ANC municipalities deposited money in the bank, but were not allowed to do so. In return, he allegedly received some bribes.
Zandile gumede
Gumede faces corruption charges stemming from a 320 million rand (excluding VAT) Durban solid waste tender issued in 2017 when she was mayor of eThekwini. The State alleges that she and her family obtained lucrative kickbacks. Since then, his case has been transferred to the Durban High Court for a pre-trial hearing scheduled for June 14 this year.
Mike mabuyakhulu
Mabuyakhulu, one of Ramaphosa’s loyal allies in KZN, will have his corruption case heard from September this year. He is accused of pocketing a R300,000 bribe that came from a R28 million funding for a jazz festival that never took place. The money was transferred to his bank account and he was referred to as “Ndiyema”, the name of his clan. Mabuyakhulu tried unsuccessfully to get the matter off the roll.
Thembalethu Ntuthu
The powerful ANC politician from the Amathole region of the Eastern Cape was recently suspended from his regional partisan duties, nearly three years after being arrested for fraud, money laundering and corruption. For that, he appeared once before the Butterworth Magistrates Court.
While the guidelines stipulate that only members of the ANC who have been criminally charged with serious crimes should step aside, it remains to be seen what will happen to those still under investigation by the Hawks and the SIU.
ANC national spokesman Pule Mabe did not respond when asked by independent media what will happen to Gumede and Mabuyakhulu, who returned to their posts late last year after they were approved by the ruling party’s provincial integrity commission.
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