ANC NGC: Bhengu says ANC’s financial woes prove it’s broke, not corrupt

ANC’s financial crisis is not evidence of corruption but proof of the poverty, said party spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu, adding that they would have been tapping into government resources to help the party financially.

Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the ANC National General Council (NGC) in Boksburg on Tuesday, Bhengu said if the governing party were truly corrupt, its books would not be in the red.

“If the ANC was a corrupt party, not individuals, the ANC as an organisation, we would not be poor,” Bhengu said.

“We would be tapping into the resources of the state as a governing party. But we can’t, because it would be fraud. It would be illegal.”

Her comments came as the party faced renewed internal tensions after ANC staffers picketed outside the NGC on Monday, protesting the delayed payment of salaries.

Workers said their pay had been repeatedly late, and in some cases, not paid at all.

Bhengu insisted the majority of salaries had now been settled and that outstanding cases were being addressed.

The spokesperson painted a bleak picture that the liberation movement battled to fund its own political machinery while defending its reputation in a climate where governing parties are often accused of looting public resources.

“We’ve seen a number of political parties come into power and their headquarters expand overnight because they can access state resources,” Bhengu said.

“We can’t access the resources of the state. We have to work with what is legally applicable, and that is what we are doing.”

The ANC’s financial troubles were expected to feature prominently behind closed doors at the NGC.

Although the party took the unprecedented step of broadcasting its presidential political report live, it kept the treasurer-general’s report under wraps.

Delivered by Gwen Ramokgopa on Monday evening, the confidential report was believed to have laid bare the full extent of the ANC’s financial challenges.

Bhengu also pointed to the Political Party Funding Act as another pressure point, saying its regulations had made the party’s fundraising environment significantly tougher.

Still, she stressed the ANC would abide by the law’s transparency and accountability requirements.

kamogelo.moichela@iol.co.za

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