Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane says he won’t step aside, despite calls from some ANC leaders for him to also be slapped with the step-aside rule.
Mabuyane has been accused of fraud and corruption concerning renovations to his home. He told The Star he had no reason to step aside because he was not guilty of any crime.
“They are nonsensical. The step aside has been regulated in the ANC; policy was taken, regulated and we have integrity commissions. We have done everything, I am one person who has gone to all integrity commissions, presenting myself.”
Mabuyane said the ANC was going through a cleansing process that could not be avoided. He said those resisting the urges of renewal were wasting their time.
“Renewal is inevitable; there is no turning back when we are talking about renewal in the ANC. We cannot coexist with all this maleficence that has been happening in the ANC.”
He denied he was a “CR” man, saying he did not belong to any faction of the ANC. Some in the party have claimed Mabuyane was able to get away with corruption because he backs the dominant faction in the ruling party, associated with President Cyril Ramaphosa.
“I am not in a faction of the ANC. I am a leader of the ANC, I am the provincial chairperson of the ANC,” Mabuyane said.
There is some disgruntlement over the step-aside issue in the ANC, with some saying that the rule was only used against KwaZulu-Natal leaders of the party.
The step-aside rule was adopted at the party’s 2017 National Elective Conference. It was expected that the rule would be solidified at this year’s policy conference.
Political analysts have predicted the step-aside rule will be kept by the ANC, but some believe it will be kept to keep certain leaders away from the elective conference at the end of the year.