Durban - ANC treasurer-general Zweli Mkhize said there should be no room for corrupt officials or people purporting to wield influence in the awarding of tenders.
“There must be no people who say tenders should go via them,” he said while addressing the cadres’ forum in Ixopo on Sunday.
Mkhize said it was unacceptable that there were people demanding to be approached or tenders when doing business with councils.
He also said corrupt people should be exposed because they tarnished the image of the ANC-led government.
“If there is someone we know is corrupt, it is us who must say ‘you are corrupt’,” KZN’s former provincial ANC leader and premier said.
Mkhize also called on the party’s members to explain to the people the gains made by the democratic government in fulfilling the promises made in the Freedom Charter.
“Your task is to explain what the ANC has been able to deliver and what still needs to be done,” Mkhize said.
He said claims made by critics, particularly the EFF and Numsa, that the ruling party abandoned the charter, were unfounded.
“Whoever says the ANC has forgotten about the Freedom Charter is being misleading,” he said before going through some of the charter’s principles.
Mkhize said much was done to fulfil the charter’s promises, but an impression was created that nothing had been done.
“There are people who, when they do not get more things done, it is as if the ANC has done nothing,” he said.
“The thing is that the ANC has not done adequately,” Mkhize said.
He said the ANC had been promoting various aspects of the charter, including ensuring the democratic government was based on the will of the people.
“The ANC is there in government with a mandate from the people,” he added.
He also said everyone now had a right to vote, unlike when blacks were disenfranchised pre-1994 and denied some privileges.
“There was bloodshed before the right was obtained,” he said, adding that apartheid had catered for the needs of the people who voted for it.
“The apartheid government did not do things for the blacks because they did not vote for it.”
Mkhize also said under the ANC government, people had human rights contained in the Constitution’s Bill of Rights.
“(The) government can’t just touch you, even the police. If you want to open a (criminal) case, you are free to,” he added.
Referring to land reform, Mkhize said it was an effort towards sharing the wealth, and that rural areas even had electricity, which was a preserve of only some during the apartheid era.
Although 40 million jobs were created over 21 years, there were still many unemployed people with some being too unskilled to be getting job opportunities.
“That is what we want to correct,” Mkhize said.
He challenged the party’s branches to take it upon themselves to find solutions in changing the lives of people.
He challenged councillors to report back to the people on the work done by all levels of government and that ANC branches should do the same.
Mkhize also said the ANC was disturbed about the political problems in the eThekwini region.
“The region has been calm and peaceful all along. What has happened there is a concern to us,” he said.
He also said the national leadership had not spoken to former deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe in the wake of reports that Motlanthe claimed that the ANC oppressed the opposition in Parliament.
“We have not spoken to him to find out if he said what he is quoted in the media,” he said.
Daily News