Lungani Zungu
Paul Mashatile remains unfazed after opposition parties asked the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to haul him before a disciplinary hearing after he was seen dishing out money to church members in Limpopo.
“I was in church, and like everybody else, I decided to give people money. I see nothing wrong with that,” the ANC treasurer-general told Scrolla.Africa.
Mashatile was in Limpopo as part of his election campaign ahead of the 1 November elections.
“The opposition is just playing politics. I will continue to do what I did if I get the opportunity again,” he said.
But many, including the controversial ANC member Carl Niehaus, lashed out at Mashatile.
“He was giving people money when ANC staffers have not been paid for more than three months,” said Niehaus, who has also continued to receive his salary.
Niehaus said Mashatile’s actions were worrying.
“It’s ironic that you can’t pay the salaries of your workers, but you splash money during campaigning.”
The Congress of the People (Cope) was among the parties gunning for Mashatile’s head.
“The IEC must urgently look into the matter because if they don’t act, tomorrow another party will do the same with impunity. This is not the first for the ANC,” Cope spokesperson Dennis Bloem was quoted as saying by the Citizen newspaper.
The IEC has yet to indicate what it would do with Mashatile.
“It is not like he called a secret meeting and gave people money. He did this in a church with all the people watching,” said ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe.
However, Accountability Now director advocate Paul Hoffman said Mashatile’s actions were against the spirit of free and fair elections.
“This is an illegal act and punishable by law.”
