Former uMkhonto we Sizwe commander and ANC treasurer General Mathews Phosa has warned the ANC that it could lose further electoral support at the next election if it does not deal with the allegations of corruption within its ranks.

The ANC managed to get 40% of the vote at the May 29 national elections, compelling it to make a deal with other parties to form the Government of National Unity (GNU).

Phosa, speaking on JJ Tabane’s Power to Truth show, said that the Zondo state capture commission of inquiry had unearthed a lot of skeletons that are still haunting the ANC as it has 97 leaders implicated in wrongdoing.

“The task of the government is to show us the (new) dawn by arresting those who have stolen the money (that belongs to) the public.”

He said that the Auditor-General’s report had found that R214 billion had been stolen at the local government level.

“The NPA (National Prosecuting Authority), SIU (Special Investigating Unit) and other prosecutorial arms of the government should investigate the serious allegations in the Zondo report and find out if these are true.

“Each one of them needs to be investigated and prosecuted, and we must see these guys going to jail...we are not seeing this,” Phosa said.

He said as a result people had lost confidence in the government. “Hence the ANC lost the elections with 40% of the vote. I have looked at the studies and the ANC, if it does not change or deal with these issues, is going to be between 26 and 29% very quickly.”

Phosa warned that the ANC would go the way of the liberation movements in Botswana and Mauritius, who were no longer in power in their respective countries. Phosa said he had campaigned for the ANC at the previous election because he believed in the party.

He said the party would continue to struggle if it did nothing about the Zondo commission findings or to stop the high level of crime in the country and improve the economy.

“Are they not listening? If they are not, then people will speak again about their disappointment in a harsh way.

“We need to heed the voices of the people; the people want jobs,” Phosa said. He said the party needed to act on its promise of renewal.

“The level of political conscientiousness in the ANC is very low. We need to educate and lift up the cadres, and we must not allow the thieves to go into power.”

ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri had not responded to questions on Phosa’s claims at the time of publication.

Political analyst Professor Ntsikelelo Breakfast said the ANC’s hegemony had been dealt a blow and one-party dominance “is a thing of the past”.

“I think history is repeating itself because the political longevity of liberation movements tends to be affected by institutionalisation of corruption.

“The ANC unfortunately does not have the ability to deal with these issues that Phosa is raising...the Zondo commission’s findings are gathering dust and corruption (in the party) is fought factionally.”

Another analyst, Thabani Khumalo said it was impossible for the ANC to turn itself around ahead of the 2026 local government election.

“We know there is corruption within the ANC and corruption created by the ANC, Ramaphosa even told the Zondo commission that the ANC is enemy number one when it comes to this crime.

“The question is who in the ANC has the courage to stand against the corruption of the party and the answer is no one because everyone has skeletons in their closet,” Khumalo said.

THE MERCURY