Johannesburg - Andrew Mlangeni has accused President Jacob Zuma of killing the economy and the ANC.
The former Robben Islander and current chair of the party’s integrity committee condemned the party’s leaders for not forcing the president to resign after the damning Nkandla constitutional judgment.
In an exclusive interview with The Star on Thursday, the nonagenarian said it pained him to see the party persisting on a path of self-destruction by failing to rein in corrupt leaders.
Mlangeni said it was hurtful that the party continued to allow divisive practices such as patronage and factionalism to take hold.
He was initially reluctant to speak about the ANC’s problems openly, maintaining his long-standing stance of criticising it only within the confines of the party’s internal structures.
“You see, for example, a large number of groups have approached me on the Nkandla issue. I have rejected them. They say: Mlangeni, your colleague (Ahmed) Kathrada and others have spoken and say the president must fall. You are quiet’.”
Quizzed further, Mlangeni, 91, who is one of the three remaining Rivonia Trial accused along with Kathrada and Denis Goldberg, criticised the ANC national executive committee (NEC) for failing to recall Zuma. He stressed he was speaking in his personal capacity.
“It (the Nkandla issue) could’ve been handled differently. They should have taken a decision and asked him to resign because by not resigning, he has killed the organisation, and the economy of the country has gone down,” he said.
In April, the Constitutional Court found that the president had failed to “uphold, defend and respect the constitution” by disregarding the remedial action taken against him by former public protector Thuli Madonsela.
Amid the groundswell for Zuma to resign, the NEC said it had accepted Zuma’s apology, after he had addressed the nation.
In August, following its four-day meeting, the NEC resolved to accept collective responsibility for the party’s disastrous performance in the August municipal elections, which has largely been blamed on the scandals associated with Zuma.
Mlangeni said the NEC should have realised that persisting with the implementation of e-tolls and not dealing with the scandals around the Guptas was so damaging that the ANC had “lost 8 percent in the 2014 (national) election”.
“The e-tolls issue made us lose some votes. The Nkandla issue and the Guptas thing, we should have seen that these are going to cost us more. We lost very badly.”
Zuma has applied for an urgent court application to interdict the release of Madonsela’s state capture report, which the Guptas - who are the president’s close friends - are at the centre of because of their alleged undue influence on the appointment of cabinet ministers and the awarding of tenders.
Mlangeni said it pained him to see the ANC losing voter support because of its self-inflicted mistakes. “It’s hurtful because people stayed away from voting.
“They say punish the ANC, the ANC must not take us for granted’. If you haven’t learnt from that, you will never learn.”
Mlangeni was cagey when asked if the integrity commission was contributing to the problems by not reading the riot act to wayward ANC members and leaders.
However, The Star understands that the integrity committee was not necessarily a toothless bulldog but that it was being frustrated by the ANC’s failures.
A highly placed source familiar with the integrity committee’s work said: “We are not struggling. We get information, including from the media, where people are involved (in wrongdoing). If, for example, on the issue of corruption, there’s evidence that so and so, a member of the organisation, is involved in this and that, we call that person (and say:) “Monna (man) or mme (ma’am), there is this thing about you in the media. What’s your story?’.”
“We don’t just rely on the media. We also do our own investigation. And on the basis of all that, we then take a decision and make a recommendation. But the NGC (national general council) doesn’t implement it. They are discouraging us by not implementing our recommendations. That must be corrected,” said the source.
Mlangeni said his wish was to leave the ANC in a good state when he died. “At the moment that’s not the position. There are many mistakes that we have made, and those mistakes must be corrected, otherwise we are going to lose the election again.”
ANC spokesperson Zizi Kodwa said the party wouldn’t comment on members publicly criticising the party. “I won’t engage with members who raise issues in public, whether it’s Uncle Kathy (Kathrada) or Mlangeni. If there’s anything to be communicated internally, their comment must be to strengthen the organisation.”
The Star