- The top leaders of the ANC are expected to meet with the ANC provincial executive committee in Limpopo on Thursday.
- This after it was announced that two leaders linked to VBS – Danny Msiza and Florence Radzilani – had been reinstated to their positions.
- ANC secretary general Ace Magashule and party chairperson Gwede Mantashe appear to have contradicted each other on the matter.
The ANC’s top six is expected to meet with the provincial leadership of the ANC in Limpopo on Thursday.
Confusion has erupted over whether the announcement by ANC secretary general Ace Magashule that two VBS-linked Limpopo leaders have been reinstated immediately to their positions was actually what the party’s national executive committee (NEC) decided on.
ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe said the top six, led by party president Cyril Ramaphosa, was expected to address a virtual meeting of the Limpopo provincial executive committee at 16:00.
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Magashule had confirmed that ANC Limpopo treasurer Danny Msiza and deputy chairperson Florence Radzilani have been given the green light to return to their positions in the party after they were made to step aside in 2018.
They were implicated in a report into the widespread looting at VBS Mutual Bank and named in a report by Terry Motau and Werksmans Attorneys.
When addressing the media following a NEC meeting over the weekend, Magashule said the party cannot suspend people forever.
“These comrades have not been charged with anything. These comrades have been mentioned in reports like many comrades mentioned in many reports. You can’t charge people because of allegations. That’s why we said – after almost two years, these comrades must come back,” he said.
Engage
But speaking to the SABC on Thursday, party chairperson Gwede Mantashe contradicted Magashule and said the party would first engage with its structures and the community affected by the VBS heist.
Mantashe said that, if Magashule said Msiza and Radzilani would return to their positions immediately, then he was “communicating his own views”.
“If they are in office, they are actually breaking the decision,” he said.
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The main bone of contention is Magashule’s comments that the pair would be reinstated immediately and the consultation with structures and the community was to “explain the rationale behind the decision”.
Mantashe said they would have to first consult before the pair return to their positions.
After Magashule’s comments on Wednesday, provincial secretary of the ANC in Limpopo Soviet Lekganyane – who opposed the return of Msiza and Radzilani – said he was confused by the announcement. He wouldn’t comment further.
News24 reported that, according to reliable sources, Ramaphosa, at the end of the meeting over the weekend, said the party should consider the poor and the old who had lost their savings as a result of the heist, when they decide on the matter.
“The president said so many poor, old people lost their savings and we have to think about those poor people whose money was wiped out. They slept there for days. What message are we sending when these people go back to their positions without any retribution,” an NEC member said.
Decision
Despite this, Magashule said the NEC’s decision was final.
“We are going to ensure comrades Danny and Florence assume their responsibilities”.
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Two provincial leaders in Limpopo told News24 that they needed clarity from the ANC top six on whether Magashule’s announcement was actually the decision of the NEC.
“If the president said we must consult first, then why did the SG (Magashule) say they can return immediately,” a well-placed source in the provincial structure said.
He said that provincial leaders were deeply divided on the matter and the ANC’s national leaders have to provide guidance on whether the pair can return to their positions.
Msiza was implicated in the VBS scandal by allegations that he used his political influence to convince mayors and municipal officials from at least 10 Limpopo municipalities to invest hundreds of millions of rands in the now defunct bank.
Radzilani is alleged to have received R300 000 in exchange for the Vhembe district municipality investing R300 million in the bank.
The push to have the duo reinstated to their positions in the ANC comes as nine people were recently arrested for their links to the VBS heist.
