ANC deployers are responsible and humble and will never hide corruption. And the country’s people know the ANC will never tolerate corruption, says Ace Magashule, the ANC’s secretary general.
He will never vacate his position on the basis of allegations not proved in a “competent court”.
In an hour-long interview with Newzroom Africa, Magashule was asked about various topics, including one election for all levels of government that the ANC is currently considering.
“There are those who argue that if you hold elections every two years – first municipal and then provincial and national elections – it will keep the party on its toes. Others believe that one election every five years will save time and costs. ”
Magashule denies the rotten municipal audit reports stem from poor deployment of cadres and says the ANC inherited “the mess” (in municipalities). “It will not be resolved in the next 40 years. It’s not a bad deployment, never was. The small municipalities cannot afford people with skills due to the lack of money to pay them. ”
About the economy: It’s still in the hands of a few white men. “The economy is in the hands of white monopoly capital. Go to the JSE, who is there? Go to townships, who’s there? Who opens large shopping malls in our townships? Who are the owners, developers? The small shops in the villages close. Where should the black people go? If they rise, it is called corruption. It can not be true.”
Asked about the role of the ANC in changing it, he said it depended on ANC leaders, “and leaders come and go. You come and you do not have the basic awareness, the theory of our revolution and struggle, you are new, educated, and we choose you, you can speak English well. We obviously want well-educated people, but education is not certification. . . ”
Many of the ANC leaders have st. 3 because they were not educated, he says. Also ex-president. Jacob Zuma who could reason with everyone, even on an international level.
Many good leaders who had the interests of their people at heart were removed by allegations of corruption.
“To date, there is no evidence of some of the allegations. It hurts me. Everything is allegations. And people write books and books. . . stories are repeated over and over. ”
Magashule himself is involved in corruption, including in Gangster State , an award-winning book by investigative journalist Pieter-Louis Myburgh.
People should not say he was involved in something unremarkable and should vacate his position, he says. “I will never do that. I have to be treated like any other South African. ”
On a statement that Zuma cannot be equated with the “cream” of the ANC, due to the large-scale corruption in his term (as testified before the Zondo Commission):
“The ANC takes collective responsibility. Zuma was there with his ministers. Were the ministers robots? Going well through the cabinet. Would you say Zuma had ministers who were afraid of Zuma? That’s not the leadership I know. Are you saying Zuma is corrupt? No, Chief. . . He said.
Regarding ANC veteran Popo Molefe’s testimony before the Zondo Commission that the ANC’s tops did nothing when allegations of corruption were brought to their attention at the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa), he said: “But you are listening to a story. There is also the other side. Before you judge, you need to listen to both. We are all equal before the law. Everyone is innocent until proven guilty. ANC members are also South Africans and should be given constitutional rights. “
On the VBS scandal, in which R2.3 billion was stolen from the bankrupt bank, he says: “Those who are found guilty by the court of stealing money must be punished. But the decision should not be influenced by the media and political heads. . . ”
Last week, the ANC was widely criticized for its National Executive Committee (NEC) decision to reinstate two ANC executives in Limpopo – Florence Radzilani and Danny Msiza – who were involved in the VBS scandal. Magashule asks why his party’s “collective wisdom” is called into question.
“People had different views. The issue has been debated intensively. ” This decision is now being explained to the affected communities. “We have already made the decision and with the power of persuasion we will make people understand where we come from.”
On corruption: The people know the ANC will never tolerate corruption. “You cannot pass legislation in parliament without the ANC. We make the laws against corruption, ”he says.
