CHARLES MOLELE
ANC Secretary-General Ace Magashule has called on members of the party and the public not to march, print posters, T-shirts and placards in his name when he appears in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court, Free State, on Friday.
This follows a meeting of the ANC’s national officials on Tuesday where he briefed them on the summons from the Hawks for him to appear in court.
Magashule briefed the officials about the content of the letter he received from the Hawks, which indicates that he will be charged under Section 34 of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act.
The charges relate to his alleged failure to exercise oversight when he was Premier of the Free State Province.
On Tuesday, the Hawks confirmed that an arrest warrant has been issued for Magashule over the controversial asbestos audit contract in the Free State, now valued at just over R255 million.
ANC deputy secretary general Jessie Duarte said Magashule told the national officials on Tuesday that he will cooperate with law enforcement authorities and appear in court on Friday to face corruption charges against him.
“The Secretary General assured officials that he will cooperate with the law enforcement agencies, and will present himself to court on Friday,” said Duarte.
“The SG expressed his preference to officials, that he would not want any individual or group to march, print posters, t-shirts and placards on this matter and in his name. The national officials expressed the wish that all structures respect this in the spirit of one ANC and to respect the rule of law.”
Asked whether Magashule will voluntarily step aside as ANC Secretary General, Duarte said the party was currently reviewing the ‘step aside’ decision, and taking serious legal advice of the far-reaching implications of the policy on party leaders and government officials.
“The ANC officials in the spirit of the 54th conference resolutions continue to condemn all acts of corruption and malfeasance. The officials will remain seized with the matter, to ensure that as the Secretary General goes through the legal processes, the process is fair and without prejudice,” said Duarte.
“We need to respect the ANC NEC resolution that people will go as individuals. What we are also doing in the process is to ensure the Secretary General receive fair and unbiased proposition – that he will not be tried before a court hearing.”
ANC Treasurer General Paul Mashatile said Magashule must be allowed to clear his name first before he can be asked to step aside from his position.
“No, we didn’t discuss the Secretary General stepping aside. He briefed us on the letter and he said he will comply with the law enforcement agencies and appear in court to face his charges,” said Mashatile.
The ANC in the Free State said all provincial and local party structures were preparing to support Magashule when he appears in court on Friday.
His supporters believe that the arrest warrant against the ANC Secretary General is aimed at settling political scores and remove him from his position.
They say the Hawks must be consistent in their investigations and also arrest President Cyril Ramaphosa for failure to play an oversight role on the multi-million rand COVID-19 corruption, and state-owned enterprises that collapsed under his watch.
Magashule’s supporters, commonly known as the Radical Economic Transformation (RET) forces, are also calling for the National General Council (NGC) to be held urgently.
The ANC cancelled all its planned conferences, including its mid-term NGC after Ramaphosa announced a national state of disaster in March.
The NGC is seen by the Magashule supporters as an opportunity to deliver a fatal blow to Ramaphosa and his supporters.
There has been growing discontent within the ANC over the party’s inability to implement several of its resolutions taken at its 54th national conference in December 2017, in Nasrec, such land expropriation without compensation and the nationalization of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB).
Meanwhile, the R255m asbestos corruption matter involving seven accused was postponed on Wednesday to February 2021 for further investigation and the possible addition of about three more accused persons on the charge sheet.
The bail of the accused, ranging between R500 000 and R50 000, was extended by the Bloemnfontein Magistrate’s Court.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said there’s an expected first time appearance and addition to the charge sheet on Friday November 13 at the same court with regards to the same investigation.
