#SACC: 'ANC needs to mend its ways'

Picture: Khanyisile Ngcobo/IOL

Picture: Khanyisile Ngcobo/IOL

Published May 18, 2017

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Johannesburg – The African National Congress has been urged to examine itself and mend its ways before reaching a point of no return.

This was the stern warning from the South African Council of Churches, which on Thursday made public its recently released Unburdening Panel Process report.

The report was tabled by SACC general-secretary Bishop Malusi Mpumlwana, who explained that the process was triggered by allegations of state capture made by former deputy minister Mcebisi Jonas and Vytjie Mentor.

"These claims, together with government's inability to deal with them led us to establish the unburdening panel," he said.

"The panel provides a safe space and facility for citizens to approach the panel to unburden, caused by an experience of someone they were unable to say no to."

Mpumlwana explained that the process was a pastoral one and detailed how it worked; matters would be reported to the general-secretary's office, which in turn, passed them on to a panel of lawyers.

The revealed information would then either be used by the churches for advocacy or be made public.

Mpumlwana said what was surprising was the genuine fears expressed by those who had approaching the panel to unburdening.

Furthermore, Mpumlwana added that what emerged from the process was truly disturbing and revealed "organised chaos".

"When it became clear that the trouble was beyond 'petty corruption', we shifted from a 'listening' for unburdening to 'the see judge act approach'," he said.

Further revelations from the process included several ways the power-elite, centred around President Jacob Zuma, siphoned state resources using state-owned companies.

This included the securing of state wealth, through the capturing of state-owned companies; control over public service as well as securing access to rent-seeking opportunities.

Mpumlwana said that what was clear from the process was that the government has lost its "moral legitimacy".

IOL

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