An ANC councillor has blamed widespread corruption in municipalities on the party's deployment policy.
Councillor Nqaba Mkhwanazi of Pongola municipality was testifying before the Moerane Commission this morning. The commission is investigating political murders in the province.
He was giving testimony about the murder of his high school friend and fellow councillor in Pongola, councillor Mbhekiseni Khumalo. Khumalo was murdered in December last year a few months into his second term as a councillor.
Khumalo had been reportedly unpopular with the community and residents had been protesting and had publicly threatened his life.
Mkhwanazi said at the heart of the killing of the councillors was the ANC deployment policy among other issues.
"There is a lot of corruption in the municipalities..." said Mkhwanazi.
"When the list of (those who will be councillors) is sent either by the province or the regions, they (province or regions) choose which councillors take what positions.
"For instance, they choose which councillor becomes a mayor and when that mayor is in that position he is beholden to them and he will do what his "employers" are telling him to do and that is how corruption sets in."
Mkhwanazi criticized the party's general deployment policy.
"I do not think the policy is right, when I worked for private company, I knew that people would get jobs based on their qualifications and experience and that is how it should be," he said.
He said it was important that those who worked as volunteers to help councillors during the elections should also be looked after through government funded job programmes.