CYRIL TAKES A STAND

As the president calls out dodgy behaviour in his party we look at how the ANC is set up

- KIM ABRAHAMS

IT FEELS like not a week goes by with­ out some or other headline related to corruption among the country’s top politicians. Dodgy tenders, bribes and kickbacks – seems there’s plenty of that going around.

Yet President Cyril Ramaphosa is finally standing up to the scourge of corruption in his own party.

In the most recent incident, he de­manded answers from defence minister Nosiviwe Mapisa­Nqakula when news broke that she and several others had taken a trip to Zimbabwe on SA taxpayers’ money. This was done in their capacity as ANC members, not government officials, and during a time when inter­ national travel wasn’t allowed.

In previous years and under a different regime, such an event may have gone unaddressed. But Ramaphosa recently announced enough was enough and elected officials had to be held to ac­ count.

The president flexed his political mus­cles when he introduced a raft of tough new measures that will ensure those be­ ing investigated for corruption will be forced to take leave from their positions – and resign if found guilty.

He also announced new checks to gov­ern ANC members and their families who do business with government. This could go some way to preventing further embarrassments – such as the debacle about claims that National Executive Committee members and relatives of members of cabinet benefited from mul­ ti­million­rand government contracts for personal protective equipment.

But it’s not just Ramaphosa who gets to call the shots. The true power rests with the ruling party, and right now it’s like a dysfunctional family with various factions vying for control.