Cape Town – ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula has reportedly come to the defence of Deputy President Paul Mashatile, dismissing allegations against him and saying that any plot to remove him from the office will not succeed.
According to News24, Mbalula said that the ANC takes such claims seriously and Mashatile would be required to address them.
“All that we are seeing is claims and stories about the deputy president.
“We are looking at it, to the extent that it is a political campaign aimed at annihilating an individual. We are observing it with keen interest.
“Never again will we come to a stage when political leaders of the ANC are subjected to these shenanigans,” the report quoted Mashatile as saying.
The allegations against Mashatile involve his association with individuals involved in corruption and using lavish properties owned by government contract beneficiaries for personal purposes.
Mashatile has, however, denied the allegations, saying that he has known these individuals for years and that no malfeasance occurred during his tenure as MEC for housing., IOL reported.
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He pointed out his long history in government and his involvement in various projects, asserting that no corrupt activities had been reported in relation to his work.
“I was MEC for Housing, police transport, you name it. In national government, I was the Minister of Arts and Culture. I have done big projects together with Tokyo (Sexwale) who began Gautrain as well as Mbhazima Shilowa. I ran and adjudicated a R26 billion project. There was no corruption. You can go and look at all the projects I did. No corrupt activities were reported,” the report quoted Mashatile as saying.
He added: “I can’t stop people from writing about me. Where I live has never been a secret. People know where I live. It’s out there. Everything I have led in government is audited. If you want to know if corruption has taken place, you go to audits.”
He also claimed that there was a plot to remove him from his position by a certain deadline, although he did not disclose the identities of those involved, according to City Press.
But President Cyril Ramaphosa has refuted Mashatile’s claims, asserting that there is no truth to the alleged plot against him.
“I also saw the report… and I had a discussion with the deputy president and I said but what is this?…. and we are going to have another discussion… I immediately said to him, I appointed you, and I am the only person that can disappoint you. There’s just no thought, no plan, no inkling whatsoever that something like that is in the works,” Ramaphosa told journalists on the sidelines of a conference by the ruling ANC last Sunday.
[WATCH] ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa on media reports that Deputy President Paul Mashatile told City Press newspaper there’s a plot to remove him from his post. “I have also seen the report by the City Press and have spoken to the deputy president…”#Newzroom405 pic.twitter.com/mGPHOiuzgo
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) July 9, 2023
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
