The ANC says renewal is the only way the party can survive.
ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) member Fébé Potgieter-Gqubule says the party is concerned about the use of money to secure leadership positions.
She was speaking at a media briefing on Thursday at the Birchwood hotel, where the ANC is holding its National General Council (NGC).
Her remarks follow allegations that delegates at the ANC Greater Johannesburg regional conference were given money to vote for particular candidates. The issue of vote buying has been recurring in different elective conferences of the party.
“This pains ANC members, and this is something that is at the root of undermining the values and integrity of the ANC.
“Because at the end of the day, people do not take that money from their pockets or from their own bank accounts. It comes from all sorts of things that the ANC does not know about. This is why it is wrong, and it is counterrevolutionary, and if the ANC wants to renew, then they have to deal with that,” she said.
Renewal
Potgieter-Gqubule said there was a time when this issue seemed to be shoved under the carpet in the ANC. But she said the party is now dealing with it as part of its renewal programme.
“Comrade Kgalema Motlanthe talked about clauses of the ANC constitution that disappeared during the period of the former SG [secretary-general]. Those clauses deal with the issue of money in ANC electoral politics, they were taken outside of the constitution of this NEC after the 55th conference.
“We have not reinstated those clauses to say that it is a disciplinary offence to use money in ANC processes.
“What we have said to the electoral commission is that they must implement what is in the rules that if you are found guilty of using money unlawfully in an ANC process, you must be disqualified from standing for elections, it’s in our rules,” she said.
Corruption hotline
Potgieter-Gqubule also said there is a proposal to introduce a corruption hotline for reporting ANC members who have broken the law.
“How do we deal with money politics in the ANC, this is about the realisation that time has run out for the movement, we either renew or we perish,” she said.
In most ANC elective conferences, delegates are sent to represent their branches or structures. Those delegates would then be given the mandate to vote for the leadership of the party.
But the party is now considering amending its constitution to ensure that all members of the ANC have a say on who becomes the leader of the party.
However, the party denied that money or greed have impeded its historic mission to transform the country for the benefit of all its citizens.
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