Exclude ANC members named in State Capture report from parliamentary list — Veterans League

The ANC Veterans League has proposed excluding those implicated in Chief Justice Raymond Zondo’s State Capture Report from its parliamentary lists for the 2024 election, which would affect MPs including ANC Chairperson Gwede Mantashe and National Executive Committee (NEC) members Malusi Gigaba, Zizi Kodwa and Thabang Makwetla.

Mantashe is the mineral resources minister, Kodwa is the arts and culture minister and Makwetla is the deputy minister in the Department of Defence and Military Veterans.

Mantashe and Kodwa have stated their intention to take the findings of the State Capture Inquiry on judicial review. 

Veterans League president Snuki Zikalala told Daily Maverick there should be no exceptions when it came to dealing with members involved in wrongdoing. 

The ANC previously announced it would refer to the party’s National Disciplinary Committee all those named in the State Capture Report who had not presented themselves to the party’s Integrity Commission.

Read more in Daily Maverick: ANC’s Integrity Commission to summon 97 leaders named in Zondo State Capture report

“Those on the lists must be electable and society must have confidence that they will not put their dirty hands in the cookie jar, [that] they are skilled, ethical and competent to deal with our serious economic challenges that confront the poor on a daily basis.

“This is what renewal means to bring back the integrity and dignity of the ANC. As the ANC Veterans League, we fully support the decision of the ANC/NEC held in April. It’s about the integrity and credibility of the ANC and individuals must be held to account for their misdemeanours,” Zikalala said.

He believed that there should be greater transparency about the processes the party was taking to deal with the report’s outcomes, which were scathing of the ANC.

“The coming 2024 elections are the most important and contested elections. We cannot go to the elections with individuals who are a risk to the organisation and who have issues of credibility due to State Capture.

“They must provide reasons why they have not availed themselves to the Integrity Committee, and the Disciplinary Committee must take action based on the reasons submitted. A member must explain steps that he/she has taken to mitigate the negative impact of these allegations to the ANC,” he said.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Tracking the lesser known State Capture fat cats who still hold top government jobs

The league also voiced this sentiment at the ANC’s 2019 election manifesto review event at the Dobsonville Stadium last weekend.

Speaking on behalf of Zikalala, who was absent from the gathering, party veteran Dr Fazel Randera raised the matter of members who should not be on the lists.

“We, as the Veterans League, do not want to see any candidate who has committed a crime or is alleged to have committed a crime, especially relating to the plundering of taxpayers’ money on the election lists of the ANC. Nor do we want to see any candidate who is alleged to have abused women or children on the lists. It is morally wrong and will lose us votes.

“We also believe that greater consideration [should be given] to the Zondo Commission report and especially the recommendation relating to political parties and the government,” he said.

Others implicated in Zondo’s report include former MP Vincent Smith, ANC Deputy Secretary-General Nomvula Mokonyane and MPs Winnie Ngwenya and Cedric Frolick. The deputy minister of water and sanitation, David Mahlobo, and former ministers Siyabonga Cwele, Faith Muthambi and Mildred Oliphant are also implicated.

In a statement last week, the party reiterated its stance that all members named in the report must present themselves to the relevant disciplinary bodies.

“This is a practical demonstration that the ANC is keen on the implementation of the Zondo Commission recommendations as part of our organisational renewal,” the statement read. 

The ANC’s Electoral Committee has set out the rules and guidelines that will be considered for candidates looking to be MPs and provincial MPLs. The document does not mention those deemed to be involved in State Capture.

To qualify for nomination, all candidates must meet the following criteria: “Have no criminal record or criminal charges brought by the NPA (this excludes political-related crimes committed before April 1994). Private prosecutions are excluded unless these result in criminal convictions by a court of law… No candidate shall be eligible for nomination if he/she has been found guilty by a Disciplinary Committee for contravening the ANC Code of Conduct, and had their membership suspended for any period in the last ten years. This rule applies also where a member is awaiting the outcome of a disciplinary hearing or an appeal.”

‘Premature’