ANC says it would not be poor if it were corrupt

The African National Congress (ANC) has stated that the organisation itself cannot be corrupt since, if it were, it would not be short of cash because it would access state resources.

Party spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu said on the sidelines of the ANC’s National General Council (NGC) in Boksburg on 9 December 2025 that if the governing party were truly corrupt, they would not be struggling to pay salaries.

“If the ANC was a corrupt party, not individuals, the ANC as an organisation, we would not be poor,” Bhengu said.

“We would be tapping into the resources of the state as a governing party. But we can’t, because it would be fraud. It would be illegal.”

The spokesperson said that the liberation movement is struggling to finance its own operations while trying to preserve its reputation in an environment where ruling parties are frequently accused of misusing public funds.

“We’ve seen a number of political parties come into power and their headquarters expand overnight because they can access state resources,” Bhengu said.

“We can’t access the resources of the state. We have to work with what is legally applicable, and that is what we are doing.”

These comments follow renewed internal tensions within the party, which arose after ANC staff members protested outside the NGC over unpaid salaries.

Workers reported that their pay was frequently late, and in some instances, not paid at all.

Bhengu claimed that most salaries have now been paid and that the remaining cases are being handled.

With regards to the comments on corruption, Bhengu’s remarks starkly contrast with those of party president Cyril Ramaphosa.

In the midst of the massive looting of state resources during Covid-19, Ramaphosa penned a letter stating that the party has “allowed corruption to continue and, at times, to flourish within our ranks.”

“The ANC may not stand alone in the dock, but it does stand as accused No. 1. This is the stark reality that we must now confront.”

Financial woes

The ANC emerged as by far the biggest beneficiary of political funding in 2023/24, pulling in more than R1.7 billion in total income.

But civil society watchdog My Vote Counts (MVC) warns that most of the ruling party’s private income remains a mystery.

The ANC’s funding, which dwarfed all other political parties, was split between public and private sources:

• Public funding: R1.19 billion (from the IEC, Parliament, and provincial legislatures)
• Private funding: R527 million, of which only R69 million was disclosed donations and a staggering R413 million (78%) was recorded as “other income” outside the Party Funding Act’s ambit.

However, the unpaid salaries is not the first time the ANC has been confronted with debilitating financial woes.

The party’s total debt is reported to exceed R200 million, a situation so dire it was deemed “technically insolvent” in 2017 when its liabilities began to significantly outweigh its assets.

A major point of contention several years ago was a significant R100 million-plus debt to the South African Revenue Service (SARS).

The ANC deducted essential contributions, including Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) taxes, Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), and provident fund contributions, directly from staff salaries but failed to pay these funds over to the relevant institutions.

Supplier debts have also hurt operations. In a high-profile case, the ANC owed R85.5 million to Ezulweni Investments for 2019 election banners.

The failure to pay this debt led to attempts to seize assets from their Luthuli House headquarters and the freezing of bank accounts in October 2025, bringing national operations to a halt until a last-minute settlement was reached.

This financial crunch is now impacting day-to-day governance, with provincial structures reportedly told to fund their own attendance for national events.

The crisis is attributed to financial mismanagement, an unsustainable salary bill, and a decrease in donations following the implementation of the Political Party Funding Act, which requires certain disclosures of private donations.

Mbalula said that he hopes the party can finally resolve the issues. “Given the party that we are, big as we are, we keep facing this particular challenge.”

“It is a challenge that the national executive committee have resolved that we need to sit down after the general council and resolve this matter once and for all.”