Factional infighting in the ANC will derail service delivery in Gauteng

The Congress of South African Trade Unions in Gauteng has noted with concern the escalation in factional battles inside the ANC in the province. These battles are unfortunately spilling over to the government structures and will likely affect service delivery. We want to reiterate our position that we did not support the ANC during the 2019 elections so that it could serve individual interests but to deliver services to the people of Gauteng.

The Federation reiterates its principled position that corruption should be extricated and all corrupt individuals in government should face the might of the law. It is for these reasons that we welcomed the steps taken by the MEC of Education, Panyaza Lesufi to request the SIU to investigate the alleged spending of R431 million on the decontamination and desensitization of schools within a period of 3 months.

Anyone implicated in any wrongdoing during this investigation should be held accountable. There are no holy cows in the fight against corruption. We have also noted and do welcome the statement released by Premier David Makhura on the judgement by Judge Mothle that implicates him on the Department of Health PPE scandal.

The federation is therefore waiting for the outcomes of the review of the judgment initiated by the Premier himself. In case the review fails, the premier will need to step and subject himself to internal ANC processes.

The federation is warning the ANC in Gauteng to ensure that their factional fights do not cripple the ability of the government to deliver services. We call all leaders of the ANC to put the people first and do what they have been elected to do because the positions they are occupying do not belong to individuals but to the people of this province.

Failure to do this will be tantamount to committing political suicide. The federation calls for political maturity in dealing with the problems engulfing the ANC in the province.

Issued by COSATU.

Provincial Chairperson – Amos Monyela at 079 493 5002

Provincial Secretary – Louisa Modikwe at 066 182 2402