GENEVIEVE QUINTAL: Ramaphosa’s promise of a cleaner ANC is a joke
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“Ethical and moral leadership, in both the public and private sector, will be critical if our collective fight against corruption is to succeed.” These were the words of the ANC national executive committee (NEC) on August 4 after reports of corruption related to Covid-19 procurement, which implicated some of its members.
However, a little more than two weeks later corruption accused former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede took the oath in the KwaZulu-Natal legislature and was sworn in as an ANC MPL. It again showed that “ethical and moral leadership” is just a platitude and makes a farce of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s promise of a cleaner and ethical ANC.
In May 2019, Gumede was arrested and charged with manipulating a multimillion-rand solid waste tender awarded by the eThekwini municipality. She was forced to resign as mayor and lost her position as the regional chair of eThekwini when the ANC provincial leadership decided to disband it.
The controversial KwaZulu-Natal politician has taken a similar stance to that of former president Jacob Zuma, of whom she is an ally, maintaining that the allegations against her are part of a political witch hunt. Gumede is out on R50000 bail. She appeared in court last month, but the case was reportedly postponed because the state had not completed its investigation.
Given that the case has not yet been completed, the argument naturally is that she is innocent until proven guilty.
Though it is not up to the ANC to determine whether people such as Gumede are guilty, nothing stands in the way of the governing party ensuring that they have leaders beyond reproach. The question the party has to ask itself is whether it is morally and ethically justifiable to have a corruption-accused person as a public representative.
I would argue that it is not. It plays into the narrative that the ANC is the party for the corrupt, as instead of distancing itself from dubious characters it continues to promote them or allows them to remain in their positions. Another example of this is former state security minister Bongani Bongo, who is also facing corruption charges but remains in his position as a portfolio committee chairperson in parliament.
While it is true that people such as Gumede and Bongo have not been convicted of any crime, that they are public representatives for the ANC flies in the face of the line given by the ...
However, a little more than two weeks later corruption accused former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede took the oath in the KwaZulu-Natal legislature and was sworn in as an ANC MPL. It again showed that “ethical and moral leadership” is just a platitude and makes a farce of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s promise of a cleaner and ethical ANC.
In May 2019, Gumede was arrested and charged with manipulating a multimillion-rand solid waste tender awarded by the eThekwini municipality. She was forced to resign as mayor and lost her position as the regional chair of eThekwini when the ANC provincial leadership decided to disband it.
The controversial KwaZulu-Natal politician has taken a similar stance to that of former president Jacob Zuma, of whom she is an ally, maintaining that the allegations against her are part of a political witch hunt. Gumede is out on R50000 bail. She appeared in court last month, but the case was reportedly postponed because the state had not completed its investigation.
Given that the case has not yet been completed, the argument naturally is that she is innocent until proven guilty.
Though it is not up to the ANC to determine whether people such as Gumede are guilty, nothing stands in the way of the governing party ensuring that they have leaders beyond reproach. The question the party has to ask itself is whether it is morally and ethically justifiable to have a corruption-accused person as a public representative.
I would argue that it is not. It plays into the narrative that the ANC is the party for the corrupt, as instead of distancing itself from dubious characters it continues to promote them or allows them to remain in their positions. Another example of this is former state security minister Bongani Bongo, who is also facing corruption charges but remains in his position as a portfolio committee chairperson in parliament.
While it is true that people such as Gumede and Bongo have not been convicted of any crime, that they are public representatives for the ANC flies in the face of the line given by the ...