ANC puts people in government to steal money

OUTA CEO Wayne Duvenage said the ANC’s cadre deployment system is not about competency. It’s about putting people in from a patronage perspective.

Duvenage shared his views on the ANC government during a State of the Nation presentation about the country’s challenges.

He argued that the African National Congress (ANC) operates through a patronage network designed to plunder state resources.

He added that ANC’s model of governance makes it impossible to reform government departments or municipalities as long as it remains in power.

“We can talk as much as we like about all the accountability that is required at the various levels of government,” he said.

“However, you will not get the accountability right if the people put into those positions are not competent.”

“The cadre deployment system and process that the ANC has is not about competency. It’s about putting people in from a patronage point of view.”

He said the ANC system makes it extremely difficult for anybody in that system to hold anybody else to account.

“You have a cadre deployment team at the ANC that will not allow you to fire somebody or hold them accountable because they have not done their job,” he said.

Duvenage explained that this is because they were put there not by the manager, but by the manager’s bosses.

“When you have the power to appoint people, you are put under pressure to appoint people who are connected to you and who are going to benefit from the system.”

As a result, in many municipalities and government departments, there are people in positions who should not be there because they are not qualified.

Instead, they were appointed to those positions because they served a patronage purpose within the ANC.

“You can never hold people to account in that environment. Until you fix that, we are going to have serious challenges,” he said.

“That is the biggest problem, and that is not going to be fixed for as long as you have the ANC in government.”

The ANC is in government to steal public money

Duvenage’s views align with those of ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba, who said the ANC is not in government to save South Africans, but rather to steal public money.

Mashaba shared his thoughts on South Africa’s political landscape and municipal coalition politics during a discussion with Biznews.

He referenced a discussion with Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero regarding the appointment of the MMC for Finance.

“Two months into the administration, Dada Morero called me and asked for advice, so we met at my home. In our discussion, I was very frank with him,” he said.

“I said one of the biggest mistakes he has made is the appointment of your MMC of Finance, Margaret Arnolds.”

Mashaba said that he has no personal issues with Arnolds. However, the MMC of Finance is a highly strategic position.

“You need someone who can assist you as the mayor in collecting money. This should be someone who truly understands finances,” he said.

“Morero replied, saying he put her in the MMC position because he wanted to control her. I nearly fell off my chair.”

Mashaba subsequently reported the issue to the ANC’s provincial structures and to some of its national structures.

Mashaba added that the African National Congress has lost the plot and is in serious trouble. However, they have not accepted that reality.

“The ANC is in ICU. As far as I’m concerned, it will be a miracle if the party ever gets out of this ICU.”

“You must understand, ANC is not in government to save you. ANC is in government to go and steal public money.”

He said that because they don’t care much about citizens, they will only announce their mayoral candidate at the last minute.

“That candidate will surround themselves with Members of the Mayoral Committee who people don’t know.”