The ANC Ekurhuleni convenor and chief whip Jongizizwe Dlabathi dismissed allegations that he was being used by former mayor and regional chairperson Mzwandile Masina to sabotage the municipality and the ANC in the province.
Dlabathi said the allegations labelled against him by EFF leader Julius Malema was a desperate statement seeking to divert the attention from the collapsing state of the city, which he said was largely run by the portfolios that were held by his political party.
“As a leader of ANC caucus and representing it, I have sharply raised agitating and grave concerns about the poor financial position of the city, including the current regression of service delivery, particularly on the electricity, sanitation, waste collection and repairs and maintenance, portfolios of which are under his disciples,” the ANC chief whip said.
Dlabathi was responding to statement by Malema on Friday at the party’s Winnie Madikizela House headquarters in Johannesburg.
The red berets leader said Dlabathini and Masina were sabotaging the ANC’s provincial leader TK Nciza as they both had factions in the region, adding that both were sabotaging the provincial leadership.
However, the regional convenor said that there were no basis to qualify the assertion.
“The ANC is not a monarch that is intolerant of views by any of its lower structures. Unless Julius can point to specific instances and probably who is briefing him about undermining of the provincial leadership of the ANC,” he emphasised.
He added that the Regional Task Team collective was very much united, cohesive and functional.
“I enjoy good and comradely relationships with the regional leadership and other leaders at large. The ANC left a solid foundation characterised by stable service offering prudent financial management with successive clean audits, aggressive infrastructure programme.”
Furthermore, Dlabathini said the assertion that sought to suggest that he was working against the municipality was far-fetched and devoid of truth.
“Therefore, the weak and illogical attempt that the ANC is sabotaging the municipality is far-fetched, worse with 70% (78) of the wards under the ANC.”
Both the EFF and ANC have a love, hate relationship in the region despite their power-sharing agreement. Since early last year, councillors from both parties had accused each other of corruption.
Late last year, Malema came out guns blazing denying allegations that the metro was in dire state financially, claims Malema had since dismissed, accusing the ANC of using the EFF of scapegoating.
The Star