Saftu blasts ANC, Magashule for ‘utter political arrogance’

The South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) has lambasted the ANC and the party’s secretary-general Ace Magashule for their “utter political arrogance” in their response to allegations contained a new book about Magashule.

Saftu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi said neither his federation nor any informed South African could claim to be shocked by the new, but old allegations of corruption levelled against Magashule.

In his book titled Gangster State: The Unravelling Ace Magashule’s Web of Capture, author and journalist, Pieter-Louis Myburgh, tells of how Magashule, as then Free State premier, allegedly kowtowed to the Gupta family and allegedly siphoned of Free State provincial government funds through a network of corrupt dealings.

He also allegedly introduced then Mangaung mayor and ex-ANC Free State provincial chairperson, Thabo Manyoni, to Atul Gupta at the Saxonwold compound where Atul allegedly tried to bribe Manyoni with cash to work with the family, but Manyoni refused.

The book also associates Magashule with the assassination of businessperson and tenderpreneur, Ignatius Mpambani, in Sandton in 2017. Mpambani allegedly had numerous corrupt dealings with Magashule’s office.

But both Magashule and the ANC denied the allegations contained in the book, calling them “fake news”, and lambasted the author, accusing him of Stratcom tactics. They also criticised both Sunday Times and City Press for their reports on the matter.

The ANC said since 2019 Myburgh had been disseminating lies about Magashule and his book was a culmination of that.

“These fake news stories and the dubious book that they are based on are timed for publication barely a month before our national elections in order to try and inflict maximum damage against the secretary-general of the ANC. It is evidently the opening propaganda salvo, is a carefully planned Stratcom operation to unfold in the coming days and weeks against comrade Magashule and the ANC using the launching of Myburgh’s book today…” said Dakota Legoete in a statement on Sunday.

The ANC failed to respond to Myburgh’s 60 questions he sent for its response before the publication of the article published in the Sunday Times.

But Saftu’s Vavi described the ANC and Magashule’s responses as political arrogance. “We cannot claim to be surprised by the utter political arrogance he and the ANC has displayed in response to these allegations. Ace Magashule was given an opportunity to respond but in a display of the typical ANC arrogance chose to ignore all the questions but to later dismiss them all as the work of the negative media,” Vavi said.

Vavi said instead of responding to the damning allegations Magashule talked of working on a “landslide victory” for the ANC.

“Of course, every poll suggests that the ANC will win the coming general elections. Ace Magashule knows this, and every other leader and the ANC of the once glorious movement of the people knows that too. It is this assurance from the voters that makes Magashule and all of his colleagues able to ignore the questions and later dismiss serious allegations as the negativity of the media,” Vavi said.

Saftu had maintained that anyone who will vote for the ANC in the coming elections will be endorsing the pillaging and the capture of not just the Free State but also the state capture in its totality. The Zondo Commission can do all the work to expose the rot but there is no state to ensure the crooks are brought to book, Saftu said.

“Ace Magashule must thank his colleagues in the ANC and the entire alliance that the state has but collapsed. After 25 years of the ANC misrule the police that should have capacity and will to investigate such allegations and bring all the perpetrators to book,” Vavi said.

– ericn@citizen.co.za

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