Infighting has clouded an African National Congress (ANC) disciplinary inquiry into the conduct of one of its most senior councillors in the Msunduzi (Pietermaritzburg) municipality, Themba Zungu, the Witness reported on Tuesday.
Zungu is the head of the city’s corporate strategic planning committee and a member of the executive committee.
The disciplinary hearing is believed to be based on an affidavit from a city resident, Earl de Lange, in which he alleged that Zungu tried to solicit a bribe of R30 000 from him in order to have his building plans approved.
According to the report, ANC insiders said there is nothing straightforward about the disciplinary hearing and that it is apparently the result of a major fall-out between Zungu and deputy mayor Mervin Dirks. Zungu’s supporters question the authenticity of the affidavit and believe he has engaged the services of a lawyer to challenge the bribery allegation.
They allege that Dirks encouraged De Lange to submit the affidavit in an attempt to have Zungu ousted from the ANC and question why Zungu is being brought before a disciplinary committee when other members — like those implicated in the uMgungundlovu district council’s R1,6-million donation to the National African Federation of Chambers of Commerce — have never been called to answer for their actions.
Dirks’s supporters deny that he was behind the call for a disciplinary hearing. They said several others in the ANC are unhappy with the manner in which Zungu conducts himself as a party member.
Many are convinced that it was Zungu who sent a snake to the deputy mayor, an incident reported in the media last week and an allegation that Zungu has emphatically denied.
However, what is surprising for most observers is why the matter is being played out within ANC structures and not being dealt with by the Msunduzi council.
Acting municipal manager Rob Haswell said he was unaware of the affidavit and was not sent a copy. — Sapa