CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South Africa’s ruling African National Congress party on Monday included six officials facing corruption allegations on its list of candidates for this year’s general election, a move against a party that already has a bad reputation. It was announced that there would be stricter monitoring. Damaged by transplant.
ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula told reporters that four of the six members are included on an interim basis at the National Commission of Inquiry into Corruption, which exposed huge amounts of corruption from the government under the former president’s administration. He said his involvement had not been approved by the party’s internal integrity committee. Jacob Zuma.
South Africa’s unemployment rate, the highest in the world, continues to rise ahead of elections
Without naming them, Mbalula said 14 other officials involved in the corruption probe were either disqualified or not nominated as candidates.
The ANC has finalized a list of 284 candidates running for parliamentary seats, including ministers, following national and local elections on May 29. President Cyril Ramaphosa is also on the list as he seeks a second and final term in office.
South Africa’s ANC party is fielding candidates who face corruption charges. ((Reuters/Mike Hutchings))
How many ANC candidates become MPs will depend on how many votes the party receives in what analysts predict will be the toughest election since it came to power at the end of apartheid in 1994.
South Africans vote for political parties rather than candidates in national elections, and parties win seats in parliament based on their share of the vote. Lawmakers then elect the president.
Corruption is a serious problem in South Africa and is one of the reasons for the ANC’s declining support ratings.
The ANC list gives no indication whether the party will take a tough stance on the allegations, as Ramaphosa made fighting corruption one of his priorities when he was elected to replace Zuma in 2019. He was being watched carefully.
Mr Ramaphosa’s reputation has been tarnished by another scandal in 2020 involving more than $500,000 in cash hidden in a sofa at his ranch. The theft finally came to light in 2022.
The four ANC candidates on the provisional list pending the completion of an integrity investigation include current Minister of Sports and Culture Gigi Kodwa, former Minister of Finance Malusi Gigaba and former Minister of State Security. David Marobo is among them, and these three are the ones under the most intense scrutiny.
A judge-led national corruption inquiry has recommended that current Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe, who is also the ANC chairman, receive security upgrades for his home from a company that has been at the center of several scandals. As a result, he was allowed to run.
Mr Mbalula said the ANC’s integrity commission had found “no adverse findings” against Mr Mantashe.
A national inquiry into corruption that lasted from 2018 to 2022 implicated a number of ANC and government officials and recommended investigations, but few have faced criminal charges. Mantashe, Kodwa, Gigaba and Mahlobo have not been charged with corruption.
Mr Mbalula said all candidates from Ramaphosa onwards were subject to “rigorous” qualification checks, interviewed by the ANC’s Integrity Commission, and are seeking to restore confidence in the ANC after corruption. He said he consented to the audit. Zuma’s dirty days.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Zuma led South Africa from 2009 to 2018 and is credited with overseeing a wide-ranging government takeover that is estimated to have cost the country more than $20 billion.
He is currently on trial on corruption charges, but the case relates to allegations that he accepted bribes before taking office. The trial began in 2021, but the case has been delayed as Zuma launched a series of legal actions, and testimony has yet to be heard.
