Managing Waste: the ANC

Monitoring the ANC: ZAR 1 billion wasted /

Correcting the ANC: Malema's fury not a private matter, Jacob Zuma

In a recent press conference, Lindiwe Mazibuko MP, National Spokesperson for the Democratic Alliance (DA), reported that the DA’s Wasteful Expenditure Monitor to calculate waste committed by the ANC on the Republic of South Africa had surpassed the R1-billion mark. The Democratic Alliance, as part of its oversight role as the official opposition, had been tracking the ANC’s wasteful expenditure since July last year. The purpose, says Mazibuko, was to hold public rep's to account and to assess the impact of the waste excesses on the ability of the government to serve.

Key figures released from the report included R47.4 million wasted on the purchase of luxury vehicles, while luxury hotel-stays added to a total amount of R6.5million. The nation's top cop Cele has been found as one of the worst violators of government spending limits, routinely extending business trips into week-long vacations at the state's expense. ANC-held parties, banquets, conferences and other events added to well over the R200 million mark. Other spending amounted to a total of R732.9 million which included the R22.5 million Sarafina style theatre production.

Mazibuko stated that the ANC's excessive spending to date amounts to R1 billion, equating to just under 19,000 RDP homes, or the equivalent of 8,000 teachers' annual salaries. The monitor only recorded money that was wasted on ‘glitz and glamour’ and which was clearly wasteful squandering of public funds, said Mazibuko.

The DA noted that the monitor was a conservative estimate of the ANC’s wasteful expenditure and that issues such as the millions involved in Julius Malema’s contracts with the Limpopo provincial government were not included.

The DA submitted proposals to the Director-General in the President's Office, Mr Vusi Mavimbela, requesting for certain amendments to be made to the Ministerial Handbook. Mazibuko said that these changes were in the process of being introduced into the Western Cape and that all purchases of new cars by members of the Provincial Cabinet had been halted. Mazibuko concluded that the DA would continue to monitor the excessive spending of the ANC and hold those responsible to account.
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South Africa’s own version of Mugabe: Julius Malema


Mpowele Swathe MP, DA Shadow Minister of Rural Development said that Malema’s behaviour relating to the support for ZANU-PF land invasions, his assault on the Movement for Democratic Change, including on our own Constitution and his altercation with the British journalist, demonstrates that he shares similar characteristics with that of Robert Mugabe.

Swathe criticised the ANC for their constant back-tracking in not taking action against Malema and called on South Africans to take an unequivocal stand to not let it prevail.

Subsequently, in a recent press statement, Helen Zille, Leader of the DA welcomed President Zuma’s statement calling Malema to order. But Helen Zille also criticised Zuma for saying that the issue was an internal ANC matter. She said that Malema had not only defied a court ruling but also showed contempt for the constitutional guarantee of freedom of the media, which were not private internal ANC matters at all. Zille called on Zuma to publically state what action would be taken against Julius Malema.