THE ANC’s Deputy Chairperson in KwaZulu-Natal, Mike Mabuyakhulu, has voluntarily stepped aside amid corruption allegations.
“I must indicate that it has not been difficult for me to arrive at this decision because I have done so before,” said Mabuyakhulu in a statement on Tuesday.
Mabuyakhulu, who was recently reinstated in his position, was charged with corruption relating to the R28 million that the provincial government spent on the North Sea Jazz Festival in 2012.
This comes as the ANC’s National Working Committee (NWC) has made the decision to suspend members who refuse to step aside voluntarily.
Mabuyakhulu was cleared by the party’s provincial integrity committee last year and returned to his position in the party.
While he was elected deputy chairperson in 2018, he refused to be deployed to the provincial legislature because of the charges he is facing.
He said he had hoped that a speedy trial would clear his name.
The former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede, who is now a member of the provincial Legislature has not yet indicated whether she will step aside.
It was still unclear whether the party’s Secretary General Ace Magashule will step aside following the conclusion of the ANC’s NWC meeting on Monday night.
- Inside Politics
