By Johnathan Paoli
ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri on Tuesday defended the party’s financial ethics while responding to media questions about unpaid staff wages and corruption within the party.
“If the ANC was corrupt, we would not be a poor party,” she said.
She said the party was working to resolve the dispute over unpaid staff salaries after workers and the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (NEHAWU) accused the ANC of failing to meet payroll and benefit obligations “for months”.
Bhengu-Motsiri said the party was developing new revenue-generating models and would continue levying its public representatives.
Management at Luthuli House was in talks with the union, and the ANC was committed to restoring regular payments, she said.
“We are committed to doing what is correct because the ANC wants to turn around the situation of making sure that our talented members of staff are remunerated on time and consistently, as it should be, because they contribute a lot to the success of our organisation, and we need them up and running to do that support, and also to be able to attend to the welfare of their own families,” she said.
Her comments came as the party’s National General Council (NGC) continued for a second day at the Birchwood Hotel, where the ANC is trying to project organisational renewal and transparency despite mounting criticism over its financial health.
NEHAWU issued a strongly worded statement ahead of the briefing, condemning the ANC for its “continuous failure” to pay employees and for neglecting provident fund and medical aid contributions “for months”.
The union accused the party of financial mismanagement and said the ANC had “lost its moral and ethical compass” by subjecting its own staff to economic hardship.
It said many workers had endured a “black Christmas” for nearly a decade due to delayed or missing payments, and demanded immediate settlement of all outstanding obligations.
Bhengu-Motsiri attributed the ANC’s financial strain to long-term structural pressures, including a shrinking donor base as the party transitioned from a liberation movement to a governing party, and the impact of tighter funding rules under the Political Party Funding Act.
On Tuesday, the NGC will move into 10 parallel commissions dealing with the state of the National Democratic Revolution and an updated assessment of “the balance of forces” shaping the ANC’s strategic direction.
Delegates also began consolidating inputs on the ANC’s base document, a policy discussion framework released for public debate earlier this year to guide renewal and organisational reform.
Other scheduled items include Freedom Charter Night, postponed from Monday due to extended deliberations on the financial report.
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