Cape Town - Troubled ANC provincial leader Marius Fransman is fighting for his political survival as he takes on the ANC for entertaining “factional politics to neutralise him” in the local government elections campaign.
ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe said this week Fransman will face the party’s national disciplinary committee after a recommendation from the party’s integrity commission which initially handled the sexual harassment complaint.
Angry over media leaks, Fransman demanded an apology or proof that the controversially leaked Integrity Commission report, which City Press claimed to have a copy of, was authentic and that he be provided with a copy.
“I have not been treated with expected respect, justness, impartiality and fairness demanded by the distinctive ANC spirit,” he said.
The City Press this week reported the commission recommended that Fransman relinquish all positions he held in the party for bringing the party into disrepute following the sexual harassment allegations brought against him by 21-year-old Louisa Wynand, during the ANC’s 104th birthday celebrations in January.
The provincial leader said he informed Mantashe of his concerns. “I am aware of the public claim by the SG (secretary general) that this leaked report is false. Should the report indeed be false, a decision on responsibility to retrieve the false report and investigate its origin and distribution is demanded,” he added.
Responding to Mantashe’s announcement, Fransman said he was disappointed by indications that the custodians of the ANC ethos disregarded its inviolable principles for factional gain.
He said the process to date had been “influenced, tainted, and marred by factionalist politics to unceremoniously and unconstitutionally neutralise him and ultimately remove him from the democratically elected position of provincial chairperson”.
The ANC loyalist added he had long warned factionalism must die for the ANC to live and prosper.
“This ill-managed process has caused my family and me significant trauma and harm. It has also damaged the morale of some of our structures and weakened our ANC election machinery in the Western Cape.”
Fransman said his case had been managed in a manner that was “unprocedural, insensitive, insulting, disrespectful, slow and tardy”.
He added that the media attacks on him continued unabated, the latest being that he had to read in the press he was to be subjected to a disciplinary hearing.
Cape Argus