The ANC national general council has agreed to give the party’s integrity committee more teeth to bite those members who implicated in corruption and sanction them.
But according to the national executive committee member Nomvula Mokonyane the committee would not just tackle criminal matters but go as far as taking action against members for failing to attend meetings.
“The commission is constituted of members of the ANC whose record is not questionable, who do not have any interest whatsoever in contesting for leadership,” she said.
“As we give this commission the responsibility we must also give it authority to make decisions and that upon making those decision it can present them to the NEC and not recommendations.”
Mokonyane said this must be granted with an understanding that any issue of a member must be thoroughly investigated and structures must guard against the noble idea being abused for political reasons.
“Issues of labelling, of character assassinations is not used as way of dealing with our own. After a thorough investigation a commission must then determine what must happen to a member,” Mokonyane explained.
“The ANC must resource that commission to make sure that their finding is based on thorough work than to collected information.”
In his report to the NGC, ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe reported that progress had not been made in implementing the resolution of the Mangaung conference on the integrity committee.
He said members feared stepping down from position would be seen as an admission of guilt and violate the principle of innocence till proven guilty.
In dealing with discipline, Mokonyane said the NGC has decided that “we must deal and nib discipline where it happens”.
She said amongst others, the ANC, would create processes where if members are aggrieved they must have someone who will be an ear whom they can talk to particularly secretaries of branches.
Mokonyane said the party wanted to avoid an option where members decided to approach the courts where they felt the processes had been unfair to them.
She said this required a transparent process.
The ANC would also institutionalise monitoring and evaluation of branches on a month to month basis and quarterly by the secretary general.
Mokonyane said the party has agreed to put in place a new smart method of membership and that the council had agreed on putting together a provisional membership card.
She said the records of the party on membership would no longer be confined to those elected into leadership because that is where manipulation happened.
“The validation of the existence of a branch must no longer be on the basis of signature of an individual or of the proof of payment of only,” she added.
“It must be also be on the basis of the life of a branch in that ward, activities of serving communities and monthly general meeting.”
Saturday Star