REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AMNESIA
ANC MPs join Mkhize and Mashatile in rebranding themselves as corruption-busters
Just as some ANC MPs simply could not stomach voting down the Phala Phala report in Parliament on Tuesday, candidates for the ANC Top Six positions have positioned themselves as leading the fight against corruption. Don’t mention their own (allegedly) corrupt histories.
The African National Congress (ANC) is often painted these days as a party lacking a moral compass, but events at Parliament on Tuesday revealed that — at least partially — to be a slanderous lie.
What a sight it was to behold the likes of Mervyn Dirks, Lindiwe Sisulu and Bongani Bongo acting in accordance with the dictates of their own steely ethical codes, which simply would not allow them to vote down the independent report into President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala scandal.
MPs of such high-minded principles could not be expected to collude on a potential cover-up of corruption allegations against a sitting president. The very idea! These paragons of virtue would never stand for such a thing.
What’s that? Why yes, that is the very same Bongani Bongo who allegedly tried to bribe the leader of a parliamentary investigation into corruption at Eskom. Yes, the one who allegedly offered a “blank cheque” to make disagreeable evidence go away. He’s the same chap who had to abstain from the parliamentary vote on Tuesday because his unyielding conscience would not permit him to dismiss the findings of the Phala Phala investigation.
Yes, yes, that is the same Mervyn Dirks who was described by City Press in January as an “ardent supporter of former president Jacob Zuma and a prominent member of the so-called Radical Economic Transformation (RET) faction”. Yes, the same Mervyn Dirks who criticised former ANC MP Makhosi Khoza when she took a stance against Zuma over corruption.
Yes, goodness, that is the same Lindiwe Sisulu who dismissed the Zondo Commission as an “expensive way of dealing with corruption”, and referred to judges like Raymond Zondo as “mentally colonised”. The very same. What of it?
The message sent by these individuals is downright inspiring in these uncertain times: it is never, ever too late to suddenly — almost overnight — develop an extreme distaste for corruption, and an absolute passion for accountability.
And it’s not just them. Damascene conversions are everywhere.
Would you, for instance, like to see the ANC elect a leader at the party conference this weekend who is “organically incapable of corruption”?
Of course you would — and the good news is, there’s one available! His name is Zweli Mkhize, and he was described by the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal as “organically incapable of self-seeking and corruption” when the province announced it was backing Mkhize for president.
Correct: the Zweli Mkhize who had to step down as health minister after the exposure of the Digital Vibes scandal, which saw tens of millions of rands in government funds allocated to the health department in the middle of a public health crisis allegedly channelled to Mkhize’s friends and family.
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Must we be so nit-picky? Yes, it is indeed the same Zweli Mkhize who was KZN finance MEC in 2006 when his wife was granted an R11.8-million loan by the Ithala Development Finance Corporation — essentially by the KZN government — to buy a farm. Same guy.
Mkhize told Daily Maverick recently that his priority as ANC leader would be combating corruption. Which is excellent news, because if there’s one thing South Africa is sick and tired of, it’s corrupt leaders.
Even if Mkhize doesn’t make the cut at the ANC conference, worry not! Paul Mashatile, who is running as deputy president but has also indicated that he wouldn’t say no to a nomination for the top spot, has practically built his whole campaign on his anti-corruption stance.
Mashatile has not endorsed either Ramaphosa or Mkhize for the ANC presidency and has warned that both the Phala Phala and Digital Vibes allegations constitute a corruption cloud hanging over the party which could cost the ANC dearly come 2024.
Mashatile was also in the Gauteng ANC leadership which bravely staked an independent position against Jacob Zuma’s corruption, so Mashatile is no Johnny-come-lately to the clean governance ticket. He has been vocal in his disapproval of corrupt leaders for literally years.
Okay, okay, if you insist on reminding us, Mashatile did have a slightly chequered period of … absolutely not more than, say, 13 years, roundabout 1997 to 2010-ish, when the corruption allegations against him were coming thick and fast.
That did happen, yes. The allegations ranged from him having charged almost R100,000 at a fancy Sandton restaurant to the Gauteng taxpayer, to him having exploited various positions in the provincial government to benefit friends and family with chunky contracts. Yes, there’s quite a rich amaBhungane dossier on Mashatile from around the late 2000s, but that’s ancient history.
Mashatile is very against corruption now, which is all you need to know.
The anti-graft mania doesn’t stop with the ANC’s presidential contenders, either.
Nomvula Mokonyane, who is currently leading the race to be ANC deputy secretary-general by a country mile, has also revealed a new aversion to corruption-related matters. Mokonyane has expressed dissatisfaction with the party’s handling of the Phala Phala saga, saying that Ramaphosa “must still be held accountable and he must be made to account to the relevant structures”.
It is all about accountability for Mokonyane; it’s practically a religion for her. Pardon? Yes, yes, this is the Nomvula Mokonyane recommended for potential prosecution by the Zondo Commission, who dismissed the inquiry’s report as “total rubbish”. Do keep up.
Mokonyane has actually acknowledged that there is the tiniest shadow of corruption hanging over her personally, but her defence seems perfectly reasonable: “We’re going to this conference with issues said against many people, including the President.”
What’s important is maintaining focus on the bigger picture here: stopping corruption! Getting bogged down in the weeds of tawdry personal histories can only hold us back, as a country, from striding into a glorious, corruption-free New … Morning. DM
The wolves in sheep’s clothing.
I think it to late to suddenly now want to “clean up house” The thieving has gone on for to long.
Great summary. Thank you. Going to hide under the bed now.
Ali-ANC and his 40 thieves.
Could be the name of Jacques Pauw’s next book. Or a Zapiro special edition
Great article. Makes you want to laugh and cry at the same time!
Great article. Thanks for the reminders
Looks as though we’ll have a choice between the criminals. Someone is probably at this minute compiling a list of the REALLY bad people compared to the not-so-bad people. This will be handy at election time. The fact that this list is the best the ANC can do is sad reflection on South Africa.
These mentioned politicians may be hypocrites, but the truth is that everything mentioned in this article means only one thing, and that is that Ramaphosa’s campaign against corruption is yielding great results in the one place none of us would have expected in our wildest dreams, and that is . . . right inside the ANC itself, while the opposition all of a sudden (including the DA also!) all of a sudden finds themselves supporting all the attempts of the RET faction of Zuma and Arthur Fraser to keep the corruption going! Like the saying goes, one day in politics is like a decade in normal life . . .
In politics you cannot expect the opposition to be praise singers of the ruling party. It would be irresponsible of them to overlook the failings of the President and would not be worth to be called opposition except fools, What you are saying happens in cloud cuckooland. To be harping on the RET as if no party has factions is being ignorant. In the US, Joe Biden would have not had the difficulty in passing his agenda if the Democrats were a monolith nor would be Boris Johnson be a backbencher today. In fact the Labour Party would be singing praises of Rishi Sunak but it is not doing so. You are saying that the opposition must in fact cease to contest for power which is the most stupid idea I have ever heard. We have to still these great results against corruption with Zizi Kodwa that Zondo said he must be dismissed still in a Deputy Minister and Mantashe still a Minister. We have not seen the political leaders charged for hollowing out the NPA but we see them in his pockets. For Transnet and Eskom the arrest are linked to grey listing and the NPA has no credible evidence. No politicians have been charged for Eskom and Transnet. The money returned by ABB are as a result of actions in the US against the company. We will measure progress with convictions not court appearances.
Hahahahahahaha, you can’t make this stuff up. How ignorent do these guys believe the general public is. Hopefully we see some comen sense applied by some voters and we see more clean audits like Umgeni. But then there probably is reality to worry about.
If all the big shots of the ANC were to be sent to where they belong, the ANC would be done with.
Just brilliant Rebecca! One of your best 😀
Brilliant. Viva satire viva!
Amazing to find that, suddenly, not only have all the racists disappeared, but also the thieves, fraudsters and money launderers! Well, I’m relieved… I thought we heading for that precipe everybody has been talking about lately. Perhaps the killers, blackmailers, women-abusers and rapists (and taxi-drivers) will follow suit?