ANC clears four NEC members allegedly linked to State Capture
JOHANNESBURG - The ANC has cleared four of its NEC members who were previously implicated in allegations related to State Capture.
The members are Zizi Kodwa, David Mahlobo, Malusi Gigaba, and Cedric Frolick, had been charged internally for allegedly contravening Rule 25.17.1 of the ANC's constitution.
The rule relates to members acting in a manner that is inconsistent with the values, principles, and objectives of the party.
Their alleged involvement in State Capture matters had raised concerns within the party, particularly given the ANC's ongoing attempts to restore public trust ahead of a shifting political landscape and intensifying coalition dynamics.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
IOL News
an hour ago
- IOL News
Steenhuisen's challenge to Ramaphosa: A look at the DA's role in the GNU
DA leader John Steenhuisen says the DA would vote against budgets of the departments that are led by ministers that are allegedly corrupt. Image: Henk Kruger / Independent Newspapers Without the DA, the government will continue to function as the ANC will invite other parties, which are represented in parliament, to join the Government of National Unity (GNU). In anticipation that the DA might quit, political analyst Tessa Dooms said even if the DA were to leave the 10-party GNU, the ANC would bring in eight other parties to replace it. Addressing the press briefing in Cape Town on Saturday afternoon, it became clear that DA leader John Steenhuisen had no intention to announce the party's departure from the GNU. 'If the ANC wants to kick the DA out for fighting against corruption, well, so be it,' said Steenhuisen. The DA had on Thursday reacted harshly to President Cyril Ramaphosa removing its MP, Andrew Whitfield, as the Trade, Industry and Competition deputy minister on Wednesday. In a statement, Steenhuisen threatened the GNU. He called on Ramaphosa to replace Whitfield with a capable DA MP, who can continue to deliver and service the department. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad Loading However, Steenhuisen announced that the party would no longer participate in the National Dialogue, which Ramaphosa launched to unite the country after last year's national elections. Steenhuisen challenged Ramaphosa to prove that he was not acting in bias against Whitfied by also removing ANC's Human Settlements Minister Thembi Simelane, Higher Education Minister Nobuhle Nkabane, and Water and Sanitation deputy minister David Mahlobo whom he accused of underperforming and corruption. While the DA will remain in the GNU, Steenhuisen said it would protest against corruption by voting against the budget votes of the departments that are led by alleged corrupt ministers. 'The second and critical step that the DA is taking is to vote against upcoming departmental budget votes for the departments headed by Simelane, Nkabane, and other ANC accused ministers. 'We will keep voting against those budget votes until those ministers are removed,' said Steenhuisen. 'As long as ANC members implicated in corruption remain as members of the executive, the DA will not support the departmental budget,' Steenhuisen said. He called on the ANC to urgently change the way it engages with its coalition partners and also fight corruption and grow the economy. 'We are demanding that the dialogue should not proceed until President Ramaphosa fires ANC corrupt individuals in the national executive. Political analysts had already predicted that the DA would not leave the GNU as it was enjoying some powers. Dooms said Ramaphosa fired Whitfield, knowing that the DA was powerless to break the GNU. 'It is very unlikely that the DA would leave because the opportunity to have as many ministerial roles, positions and power right now is one that they are not ready to give up. 'Or, they can say that they won't vote with the ANC in parliament,' said Dooms. University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) political analyst, Sakhile Hadebe, was also of the view that the GNU was something that could not be easily collapsed. 'The survival of GNU can be threatened by something huge [that] I can't imagine right now, not firing disobedient Dep Ministers. 'DA enjoys sizable power in that GNU, they are not just helping the ANC to govern,' he said. Another UKZN political analyst, Zakhele Ndlovu's concern was not concerned about how long the GNU would last. 'We should be worried that the inability of the GNU to forge cooperation comes at a significant cost,' he said. Ndlovu said the GNU's resilience has gone through a lot of tests and survived disagreements on the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act, the National Health Insurance Act, the Expropriation Act, and the budget impasse in its first year. 'It appears that GNU partners are still learning the art of cooperation, compromise, negotiation, and accountability, to name a few,' said Ndlovu. The DA's spokesperson Willie Aucump said that if the decision to fire Whitfield was not protested, it would set a bad precedent for ANC, using Ramaphosa to fire its members from the cabinet for minor offences. Ramaphosa fired Whitfield for breaching the Ministerial Handbook by taking a trip to the United States of America on behalf of the DA without the president's approval. Ahead of the trip early this year, Whitfield wrote to Ramaphosa on February 12 requesting approval, but Ramaphosa did not respond to the request, leading to him leaving the country unauthorised and apologising on his return. 'What if next week the ANC becomes fed up with Dr. Leon Schreiber being minister of Home Affairs, Siviwe Gwarube being minister of Basic Education, and the president then gets instructions from his party to fire them? 'We cannot have ministers working with an axe behind their necks that they might be fired by the president anytime,' said Aucamp. He said that although the constitution empowers the president to hire and fire ministers and deputies at will without having to explain, there was another decision that he should take into consideration when he makes decisions, 'because the ANC is not governing alone anymore.' 'They are a minority party, and they have partners within this NGU that he needs to consult with as he has to respect the Statement of Intent that his party signed when the GNU was formed,' he said. He said the fact that the president ignored Steenhuisen's request for permission to communicate with his party before Whitfield was fired showed that Ramaphosa was undermining the GNU partnership. The DA believes that the underlying reason for Whitfied was that he was opposed to certain lucrative tenders, including the lottery contract, which was worth R7 billion, being awarded to politically connected people. The DA believed that Ramaphosa deliberately ignored Whitfield's letter requesting permission. 'Ten days went by without getting a reply from the president, and on every single one of those 10 days, Whitfield followed up with the office of the president and the president and he did not get a reply. 'If the president did not want him to go, why didn't the president just write him a letter saying, 'I do not grant you permission to travel overseas?' 'Why does the president ignore a request letter from a member of the executive? The deputy minister did what he was supposed to do. 'One would have expected the office of the president to be more efficient and reply to the deputy minister,' said Aucamp. When asked why Ramaphosa failed to grant or deny the traveling permission, his spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, said, 'That's not the issue.' 'He did not have permission to travel, period. If the President felt his trip was a government priority, he would have responded in the affirmative. 'It doesn't hold that just because you did not get a response in the time you expected it, then you can go against the rule,' said Magwenya.
The South African
2 hours ago
- The South African
Steenhuisen stuns Mzansi with DA's decision on GNU
Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen says the party will remain in the Government of National Unity (GNU) despite the axing of Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry Andrew Whitfield. However, the DA's Federal Executive has resolved to withdraw from the National Dialogue with immediate effect. In a media briefing, Steenhuisen accused the African National Congress (ANC) of displaying double standards and abusing its power. He warned that the DA's withdrawal from the GNU would have disastrous consequences for the country. Steenhuisen stated that DA members of the executive have remained focused on delivering for South Africans. However, he slammed Ramaphosa for not doing the same. 'Instead of upholding the wishes of the people by working in a respectful and collaborative manner with all partners in the GNU, the ANC has repeatedly undermined these principles. Time and again, it has slapped away the hand of substantive cooperation and co-creation in favour of arrogant and narrow political self-interest,' said Steenhuisen. Steenhuisen also criticised Ramaphosa for ignoring a 48-hour ultimatum issued by the DA following Whitfield's dismissal, calling on him to act against corruption within the ANC. 'If the ANC does not urgently change the way it engages with its coalition partners so that we can fight corruption and start growing the economy, then they imperil the future of the country and its people,' he warned. He emphasised that the DA has acted in the best interests of South Africa since the formation of the GNU, and called on Ramaphosa and the ANC to do the same. Many South Africans took to social media to express their disappointment with the DA's announcement. On X, several users shared that they had expected the party to withdraw entirely from the GNU. Others also questioned the DA's credibility and whether its actions matched its rhetoric. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE DA'S DECISION TO REMAIN IN THE GNU? Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 11. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news
IOL News
2 hours ago
- IOL News
DA exits National Dialogue, pledges to challenge budgets for corrupt ANC ministers
Speaking at a press briefing on Saturday afternoon, John Steenhuisen accused President Cyril Ramaphosa of shielding corruption-accused ANC Ministers. Image: Democratic Alliance Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen has announced the party's immediate withdrawal from the Government of National Unity's (GNU) National Dialogue, citing a breakdown in trust and accusing President Cyril Ramaphosa of shielding corruption-accused ANC Ministers. Speaking at a press briefing on Saturday afternoon, Steenhuisen criticised the President for allegedly breaching the GNU's founding Statement of Intent and for what he called a pattern of 'arrogance, disrespect and double standards' by the African National Congress (ANC) in its handling of coalition politics. 'Until [President Ramaphosa] replaces words with action against corruption within his own ranks, the DA sees no further point in wasting our breath in endless talk shops with the ANC,' said Steenhuisen. 'Effective immediately, the DA will have no further part in this process.' The DA joined the GNU following the 2024 general elections, in which the ANC lost its outright majority for the first time since 1994. The coalition, seen by many as a historic opportunity to usher in a new era of multiparty governance, has since shown signs of strain. According to Steenhuisen, the President unilaterally appointed a 'bloated' executive and pushed through controversial legislation without consulting GNU partners. He further accused Ramaphosa of sidelining the DA in key decisions and failing to act on corruption allegations against senior ANC figures. Most recently, the dismissal of DA Deputy Minister Andrew Whitfield, reportedly over a travel permission issue—sparked outrage within the party. 'The flagrant double standard that protects the likes of [Thembi] Simelane and [Nobuhle] Nkabane but acts against Whitfield proves that in the ANC's universe, the only things you dare not be are competent, honest, and hard-working,' Steenhuisen said. In a dramatic turn, Steenhuisen said the DA will now vote against departmental budget allocations for ministries led by corruption-accused ANC officials, including Simelane and Nkabane. He emphasised, however, that the DA would not sabotage the overall GNU budget to maintain national stability. 'We will strike the appropriate balance by allowing the broader GNU budget process to proceed, while forcing the ANC to act against specific Ministers,' he said. In addition, the party is calling on civil society to reject the National Dialogue, which it labelled a 'R740 million taxpayer-funded electioneering ploy.' While stopping short of announcing it, Steenhuisen confirmed that the DA had considered tabling a Motion of No Confidence in the President. 'The President only has this prerogative because of his partners in the GNU. Without the DA's numbers in Parliament, Ramaphosa has no such prerogative,' he said. 'If the ANC fails to course-correct, the DA will seriously consider exercising our constitutional prerogative.' Steenhuisen ended his address by reiterating that the DA's participation in the GNU was grounded in a commitment to reform, economic growth, and accountability. 'If the ANC wants to kick the DA out for fighting corruption, so be it,' he said. 'But as long as ANC Members of the Executive implicated in corruption… remain around the Cabinet table, the DA will not support their departmental budgets in Parliament, and will not participate in the National Dialogue.' The announcement marks a major escalation in tensions within the fragile GNU coalition, raising questions about the future of collaborative governance in South Africa. IOL
