Cape Town - The provincial disciplinary committee (PDC) of the African National Congress in the Western Cape (ANCWC) on Tuesday announced the suspension of one of its members, Jonton Snyman, who was convicted after pleading guilty of fraud.
“Comrade Snyman has brought the party into disrepute,” said deputy chairperson of the provincial disciplinary committee Khaya Magaxa during a briefing at the party’s headquarters in Cape Town.
“The provincial secretary, acting on the authority of the PEC, shall suspend the membership of Comrade Snyman until the finalisation of such appeal or review proceedings.”
Snyman,the suspended regional secretary of the Boland region, was under the party’s disciplinary process after a fraud conviction relating to a laptop insurance claim come to light.
Snyman pleaded guilty in the Worcester Magistrate’s Court on a charge of fraud in October last year.
According to the PDC, Snyman had failed to disclose this information “before and during the Boland Regional Conference” where he had been elected as an office bearer.
The PDC said, despite court rulings being a matter of public knowledge, no one was aware of Snyman’s criminal record.
It was only when, in late July this year, provincial secretary Faiez Jacobs received a written complaint against Snyman that the party was made aware. Two weeks later a disciplinary process began.
Magaxa said on Tuesday that Snyman and his representative had been informed of the PDC’s decision. Snyman would now have 21 days to appeal the decision and the recommendation by the PDC for his expulsion.
In the interim, Snyman’s deputy would serve as acting regional secretary pending a decision by the regional general council.
Magaxa and another member of the PDC, Rhoda Bazier, said this was but one example that the ANCWC was serious about upholding the reputation of the party.
“Cognisant that this is the organisation of Luthuli, Joseph, Tambo, Nqgoyi, Mandela, and First, it is incumbent on this committee, and the [party] collective, to secure the dignity and reputation of the ANC,” said Magaxa.
Bazier said the PDC would deal with any misconduct in terms of the party’s constitution and appealed to representatives to abide by it.
“We as councillors, each person in a leadership capacity, we are the vanguards of the organisation and the faces of the organisation,” she said.
“Let it be known that whoever brings the ANC into disrepute, we will deal with you.”
The ANC would look to repair its reputation in the Boland region where Snyman’s suspension was one of two recent mishaps.
In early October, the ANC forced one of its councillors to step down after it was alleged he had used bricks meant for the community for his own home. He too would undergo a disciplinary hearing which was already underway.
“We have shown the community in Boland that the ANC is really against any form of dishonesty, any corruption, and any ill discipline,” said Magaxa.
African News Agency