The African National Congress says it is surprised by Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Penuell Maduna’s announcement that he will not be available for Cabinet nomination next year.
ANC secretary general Kgalema Motlanthe told SABC news that members could only decline nomination after their names appeared on the party’s consolidated list. Motlanthe said that members would then be requested to confirm or decline nominations.
He added that the process should not be played out in the media.
When contacted on Monday, ANC spokesperson Smuts Ngonyama said he still could not comment.
Maduna’s announcement followed a series of allegations against him, including nepotism and corruption in his department.
He told the Sunday Independent that he would serve in the ANC in any other capacity, “even as a floor sweeper”.
Maduna also said that the ANC was being torn apart by allegations that National Director of Public Prosecutions Bulelani Ngcuka had been an apartheid spy.
“The ANC is hurting bad,” he said.
“But I don’t care anymore what this [battle] is doing. It has already done a lot of damage. Families are suffering.”
However, Maduna said he was not quitting his current post.
“No, I am not quitting. I will serve my full term but I will not stand again.”
Maduna’s decision could make him the first victim of the escalating political row sparked by the Scorpions investigation into whether Deputy President Jacob Zuma solicited a R500 000 bribe from a French arms company bidding in the multibillion-rand arms deal. — Sapa
‘The ANC is hurting bad’