A letter dated 6 December 2023 was made public on various social media channels late last night. A trusted source confirmed to Daily Maverick shortly before midnight that the letter was indeed authentic.
Msimang said in his devastating three-page resignation letter, the transcript published in full below, that “For several years now, the ANC has been wracked by endemic corruption, with devastating consequences on the governance of the country and the lives of poor people, of whom there continue to be so many.”
Msimang questions incidents of children drowning in pit latrines, raw sewage flowing into rivers, over a hundred people dying in the Life Esidimeni tragedy, people dying waiting for ambulances and businesses failing while “ANC leaders publicly proclaim ownership of obscenely wealthy homesteads and other possessions, and send their children to the best schools in the land”.
Msimang goes on to say that the “dramatic decline in the organisation's popularity is attributable to widely held perceptions that its members and 'deployees' are corrupt, that the organisation has a high tolerance threshold for venality, and that the deployment of unsuitable people accounts for the government's deplorable levels of service to the public.”
He ends his letter: “Consequently, I have come to the realisation that my time and energies would be better spent elsewhere. Even as I painfully sever ties with my once glorious organisation, I shall continue to keep a vigil over any and all matters pertaining to governance in the country. It is not easy to leave an organisation that continues to be home to some of the most dedicated individuals I have had the good fortune, honour and privilege to call comrades. But it is time to go.”
ANC Veterans’ League President Snuki Zikalala released confirmation shortly after midnight that Msimang had resigned.
“Regrettably, Cde Mavuso Msimang, the Deputy President of the ANCVL, has decided to resign from the ANC. His resignation is acknowledged,” said Zikalala.
Zikalala said it was “equally regrettable that the Secretary-General of the ANC has made allegations against the Veterans’ League that we are undermining the ANC”.
“As the ANCVL, we have and will continue to raise issues of corruption internally in the organisation. Further, we will continue to engage at provincial and national levels in the list processes to take a stand against individuals who are implicated in corrupt activities, including those fingered by the Zondo Commission, being part of election lists for provincial and national legislatures,” he said.
Zikalala rejected earlier allegations “that by doing this, we are undermining the ANC. We believe this is the only path to renew the ANC and restore the legitimacy of the ANC in the eyes of the people.
“We continue to believe that the ANC is the only organisation that can best take forward the interests of the poor, and is committed to our constitutional democracy, including the Bill of Rights and the rule of law.
“As the ANCVL, we will remain committed to bringing back the integrity and dignity of the organisation, and win the coming elections with a resounding victory.”
On Wednesday afternoon, during a press briefing, party Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula said the veterans league was decampaigning the party instead of using its direct line to the party’s leadership to discuss their concerns.
“On a daily basis they have led a charge against the organisation. We as the leadership are available if they wish to make a call, we will avail ourselves. In a couple of days, it will be the first anniversary of this leadership. While there are a number of issues that have been raised, which have not been addressed, they are on the agenda,” he said.
Msimang’s resignation will be a blow to the ANC, which is desperately struggling to hold on to any chance to retain power in next year’s national elections. Msimang, who spent many years in exile, served in the armed wing of the ANC’s Umkhonto weSizwe in the 1960s and was the then banned organisation’s Chief of Communications.
While in exile, Msimang worked for, among others, the United Nations and Care International. He returned to South Africa with his family shortly before the 1994 elections and was later appointed to several positions including Head of SA Tourism, CEO of the State Information Technology Agency and the Director-General in the Department of Home Affairs. He was voted in as the Veteran’s League deputy president earlier this year.
The full transcript of Mavuso Msimang’s resignation letter is published below:
"Dear Secretary General
Letter of resignation
It is with profound sadness that I inform you of my decision to terminate my membership of the African National Congress (ANC). I have served the organisation loyally and diligently for over six decades.
For several years now, the ANC has been wracked by endemic corruption, with devastating consequences on the governance of the country and the lives of poor people, of whom there continue to be so many.
Of course, the ANC did not invent corruption. We inherited a state that was morally bankrupt and that was built on the most profound forms of corruption. When we took over government in 1994, we had the moral high ground, and the conviction that we would be able to root out the old-boy networks that had benefited from, and strangled, the apartheid economy.
Yet, three decades later, the ANC's own track record of corruption is a cause of great shame. The corruption we once decried is now part of our movement's DNA. This has had dire consequences for the most vulnerable members of our society.
Over four million people live in shacks that are euphemistically referred to as 'informal settlements’. And in every town, there are people whom we call beggars, who collect at traffic lights and in town squares. They are not beggars of course, for that is not their identity. They are human beings who have been forced to sacrifice their dignity in part because of my party's successive failures. We are an organisation that purports to create a better life for all.
A new black middle class has grown and developed, which is commendable. However, this middle class is leaving behind people who die before ambulances can reach them, or perish in the hallways of overflowing, under-resourced public hospitals.
As ANC leaders publicly proclaim ownership of obscenely wealthy homesteads and other possessions and send their children to the best schools in the land, there are still many South Africans whose children continue to be exposed to the risk of dropping into pit latrines in poorly equipped public schools and dying horrendous and humiliating deaths. There are children in rural areas who miss classes when streams and rivers are in flood because there are no bridges.
How does it come about that raw sewage flows into the uMngeni River and into the sea, polluting eThekwini beaches that have been a traditional holiday destination for black people from inland provinces, some of whom used to travel from as far north as Limpopo, Northwest, Mpumalanga, etc? For what earthly reason did the Gauteng Department of Health think that frail, elderly, and very vulnerable people should be sent into ill-equipped, ill-prepared and ill-funded houses under the guise of unqualified NGOs resulting in the death of some 160 people as happened in the Esidimeni Life scandal?
Businesses are failing, downsizing or simply deciding not to invest anymore in our country where the environment has become entirely disabling for them. As a result, thousands of jobs are being lost at a time when the unemployment rate rages north of 32 percent and 60 percent for persons aged between 15 and 24 years. Inexplicably, you have ministers who attack the very private sector the President is inviting to be an essential "part of a social compact in a programme to rebuild our economy and enable higher growth".
You do not need to dig too deeply to discover that most of the country's failures are linked to corruption somewhere in the system: a tender that should never have been awarded, a job that should have gone to a better qualified, more deserving and less factionally aligned person. This is happening on the watch of the ANC government.
An Eskom brought to its knees by high-level corruption and sabotage has literally rendered the nation powerless and all too often left it in the dark. Transnet's mismanagement has derailed its freight haulage system. In consequence, road transporters who have stepped into the breach sometimes have to wait in 40km-long queues, while belching noxious gases into the atmosphere, because ports are congested. The resulting demurrage charges are inevitably, ultimately borne by the consumer. And the worst may yet happen: ships simply avoiding our ports and discharging their cargo in better-run ports elsewhere.
The litany of economic and social woes - crime, unemployment, destitution - associated with my beloved African National Congress is not only embarrassing, but also defies enumeration.
It is a matter of public record that for over a decade I have added my voice to many others that have consistently decried and disapproved of corruption and its harmful by-products of nepotism and incompetence. The response of the leadership to this constructive censure has, at best, been a shoulder shrug and a promise to do something about it; at worst those who seek change by raising voices endure slurs, or are met with downright hostility.
Despite the failures of the ANC and the manifold malfeasances referred-to above, I am heartened that the South African spirit is alive and well. It is evident in the entrepreneurs found in every township and community who manage to survive despite the barriers. You see it when you look at organisations like Gift of the Givers, which has become a global force for good. It is demonstrated in the creative talent of a new generation that is earning accolades on stages in every genre from opera to photography and comedy. And who cannot notice the wonder of Amapiano, whose pioneers are generating joy and resources with their uniquely South African outlook?
Alas, despite these and other glimmering flashes of positivity, the ANC is on the verge of losing power. This is not because Ezulweni Investments, a small company from Newcastle, got a writ of attachment against the ANC for R150 million, and the high court sheriff has been to Luthuli House to attach immovable property. It is because, as its own pollsters have warned, the ANC is currently falling significantly short of securing outright victory during next year's elections. This dramatic decline in the organisation's popularity is attributable to widely held perceptions that its members and 'deployees' are corrupt, that the organisation has a high tolerance threshold for venality, and that the deployment of unsuitable people accounts for the government's deplorable levels of service to the public.
To address these societal perceptions, the ANC Veterans’ League, in a resolution passed at its conference and in decisions subsequently taken at the league's successive National Executive Committee meetings, urged the leadership of the organisation to ensure that members who have been accused of criminality or recommended for referral to criminal justice institutions by commissions set up to investigate corruption, should not be allowed to continue in office. The Veterans’ League specifically recommended that such individuals be considered ineligible for nomination to represent the ANC in the 2024 national and provincial elections. Unfortunately, the ANC NEC has shown no urgency to deal with this matter.
Consequently, I have come to the realisation that my time and energies would be better spent elsewhere. Even as I painfully sever ties with my once glorious organisation, I shall continue to keep a vigil over any and all matters pertaining to governance in the country.
It is not easy to leave an organisation that continues to be home to some of the most dedicated individuals I have had the good fortune, honour and privilege to call comrades. But it is time to go.
Sincere regards,
Mavuso Msimang
Citizen of South Africa
6 December 2023"
Msimang was until last year a member of the ANC National Executive Committee, but did not stand for re-election to the NEC at the party's 55th National Conference in 2022.
During the third national conference of the African National Congress Veterans' League held in July 2023, Msimang was elected unopposed as deputy president of the league.
ANC responds
In a statement on Thursday, ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri acknowledged Msimang’s resignation, adding that party president Cyril Ramaphosa, along with other members of the top seven, have always availed themselves for counsel and direction by veterans and stalwarts.
The party, however, continued to express concerns about the recent utterances by members of the Veterans League.
“Comrade Msimang is a dedicated stalwart who devoted six decades of his life to the ANC and the cause of freedom. His contributions remain invaluable to this day. Further, as contained in our previous statements about public spats involving leaders and members, we reiterate our call on the veterans of the ANC to stop de-campaigning the ANC and work through the structures of the organisation,” Bhengu-Motsiri said.
“The ANC is committed towards the fulfilment of the 55th Conference resolutions on renewal and unity of the movement, including discipline. There is sufficient evidence of the strides that are being made in this regard.”
This is a developing story. DM