ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula says if the party illegally received any money from VBS Mutual Bank it will be paid back.
(Photo by Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images)
ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula says if the party illegally received any money from VBS Mutual Bank it will be paid back.
“The ANC has said, if the ANC got money from VBS, that money must be returned including the claims that there was money given to Zweli Mkhize,” Mbalula told a media briefing on Thursday ahead of a three-day meeting of the party’s national executive committee (NEC) to deliberate on issues including its dismal performance in the 29 May elections.
The NEC meeting will be followed by an extended lekgotla involving all of the ANC’s deployees, alliance partners and leagues.
Mkhize was implicated in the leaked affidavit of former VBS chairperson Tshifhiwa Matodzi, which detailed the series of events that eventually led to the collapse of the bank.
Matodzi agreed to a plea deal with the National Prosecuting Authority, resulting in a 15-year prison sentence.
According to the affidavit, in 2016 Mkhize, who was the ANC’s treasurer general, requested R2 million from VBS to pay a party supplier.
“The meeting was held at the Mmampilo boardroom in Rivonia. Present were Dr Mkhize, [former chief executive of VBS] Andile Ramavhunga, myself, and I think there were other members in the meeting who I cannot recall (I think a guy by the name of Nkadimeng),” it read.
“The meeting was probably arranged by Joseph Nkadimeng. The purpose of the meeting was for Dr Mkhize to assist VBS with accessing much larger facilities at PIC.
“I recall an amount of R2 million that was paid via Joseph Nkadimeng or Tseke Nkadimeng, which was requested by Dr Mkhize. The request was that the payment be for an ANC supplier. No further engagements were held with Dr Mkhize.”
At Thursday’s briefing, Mbalula said Mkhize has given the ANC a report on the matter.
“If the money has gone into the coffers, there is a decision in the ANC that, ‘let’s return the money of VBS,” he said.
Mbalula also defended the ANC’s Limpopo deputy chairperson, Florence Radzilani, saying while implicated in the VBS scandal, the party’s step-aside rule could not be applied to her because she had not been arrested.
In his affidavit, Matodzi said Radzilani had received R300 000 illegally from VBS for securing unlawful investments from the Vhembe district municipality. Matodzi said Radzilani had demanded a further R1.5 million in “Christmas money” because the R300 000 was not enough.
Mbalula said the party would only act against those who had been criminally charged rather than acting on allegations.
“We have pronounced that anyone affected by VBS, step aside. All those who are arrested today — Danny Msiza, [former ANC Youth League leader Kabelo] Matsepe and all of them, are on step aside,” he said.
“The reason why Florence is not on a step aside is that t[she has] never been arrested as a result of VBS. All those reports about VBS will come to that special NEC and we will deal with the matters.”
Mbalula said Radzilani had previously denied any involvement in the VBS matter.
He also took a jab at former president Jacob Zuma‘s Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) party,
saying it was formed to promote his friends.
This is after the general secretary of the South African Communist Party, Solly Mapaila, accused its alliance partner the ANC of selling out by working with the Democratic Alliance in the government of national unity rather than the MK party and the Economic Freedom Fighters.
“You say we must work with Zuma, what does Zuma stand for? When he gets into the legislature he replaces people who worked for the Zuma party like [Jabulani] Khumalo and replaces them with [John] Hlophe. Those are people who never went door-to-door,” Mbalula said.
“It’s a coming together of friends of Zuma. This so-called MK party is friends of Jacob Zuma. He went to fetch Hlophe and made him the leader of parliament. The man [Hlophe] is out of depth.
“He [Zuma] said; ‘we wanted to rescue the ANC’ — but he [Zuma] has not come to the ANC — ‘now that I have got this percentage [14% of votes] and how do I want to rescue the ANC with this percentage’,” Mbalula added.