The ANC in the Northern Cape has come out in support of its Provincial Chairperson, Dr Zamani Saul, following a slew of allegations against the Premier by the EFF.
THE AFRICAN National Congress (ANC) in the Northern Cape has come out in support of its Provincial Chairperson, Dr Zamani Saul, following a slew of allegations against the Premier by the EFF.
ANC Provincial Secretary, Deshi Ngxanga, said in a statement on Friday, that the party rejected with contempt the “spurious and preposterous claims that the Provincial Chairperson is corrupt and promotes nepotism in government”.
“These false claims are orchestrated to tarnish the good name of the Provincial Chairperson and the ANC. The statement is unwarranted, baseless and irresponsible,” Ngxanga said.
He added that the Provincial Executive Committee had resolved to tackle corruption in all its manifestations, across all spheres of Government, especially as it relates to the Covid-19 procurement.
“The 7th Provincial Conference of the ANC adopted a programme of action, summarised as four imperatives and three dangers. Fighting corruption was identified as a central pillar towards the realisation of our vision of a Modern, Growing and Successful Province.
“We are confident that the Provincial Government as led by the Provincial Chairperson, Dr Zamani Saul, has made great strides in our fight against corruption by saving the provincial fiscus from unnecessary wastages.
“We are of the firm view that the corruption value chain has already robbed many of our communities from much-needed social services, infrastructure and economic opportunities. We have full confidence, and will support all the efforts by the Provincial Government to root out corruption.”
Ngxanga added that in the discussions with the Provincial Chairperson, the party was able to deduce that the company Masiqhame was established in 2006 when its directors wanted to explore a business opportunity in De Aar.
“This came long before the Provincial Chairperson joined the Provincial Government. This opportunity did not materialise as the company was subsequently de-registered in the year 2011. According to records, the company has never traded with the Provincial Government and the assertion that the company benefited from the economic funding of NCEDA is devoid of all truths.”
Ngxanga added that the position that Hastings Nel occupies at the Department of Transport, Safety and Liaison was advertised and he emerged out of that process as the best candidate for the position.
“The Provincial Chairperson was not part of the interview panel and neither does he have the authority to dictate to the department who to appoint. It is our view that he knows many people in the provincial government, it is grossly unreasonable and unfair to ascribe their fortunes in business or in the provincial government on the bases of their association with the Provincial Chairperson.
“The EFF might as well go ahead and claim that everyone the Provincial Chair knows, who does business with the government or works for the provincial government, benefited because of their friendship with the Provincial Chair. This is absurd and tantamount to witch-hunting.”
Referring to the appointment of Anele Gxoyiya, Ngxanga stated that Gxoyiya was appointed by the legislature in terms of its own rules and not by the Provincial Chairperson.
“The EFF and all other opposition parties were part of the shortlisting and interviewing panel and they fully supported his appointment. The Provincial Chairperson in his position as the Premier does not appoint public service commissioners. It is therefore highly disingenuous of the EFF to apportion blame to him for the appointment of Gxoyiya.”
Ngxanga stated further that the Tanzanian trip was adequately explained by the Provincial Chairperson in the legislature and through public pronouncements made by his office.
“The EFF is trying to resuscitate a matter that has adequately been explained to the public. We can think of no other reason why the EFF is behaving in this way other than their intense dislike of the Provincial Chairperson and their wish to paint the ANC as a corrupt political party.
“The Provincial Chairperson reassured the organisation that he had no knowledge of the tender that was allocated to the wife of Norman Shushu because it was a process that was handled by the national department of SAPS. The organisation independently verified the facts around the allocation of this tender, the organisation is satisfied that the Premier had no knowledge and played no role in the allocation of the tender to the wife of Shushu.”
He stated further that the President instructed the SIU to conduct investigations around issues of Covid-19 PPE.
“The SIU has already started with its work in the Province therefore the Provincial Chairperson in his capacity as Premier cannot suspend people on the bases of wild and untested speculation made by the EFF. We must allow the law enforcement agencies to adequately investigate and make their determination.
“The Provincial Chairperson has given an undertaking that he would not hesitate to act against anyone found to have engaged in any corrupt activity,” Ngxanga said.
“The ANC has mandated all its deployees to build internal capacity to render services, clamp down on corruption and accelerate service delivery. We are encouraging all our members and supporters to be at the forefront in the fight against corruption, work together with law enforcement agencies in order for us to bring to book those that are guilty.”
