By Dylan Bettencourt
- Mbalula says he has not received a salary for months as the party struggles with a twenty million rand monthly wage bill.
- Delegates were told to act like churchgoers and pay for their own transport, accommodation and T-shirts.
The ANC is broke and Fikile Mbalula says it is time for its rich members to save it.
Speaking at the National General Council in Boksburg on Wednesday, the Secretary-General said wealthy politicians need to open their wallets.
Mbalula said members who made money through the party should have a conscience and give back.
“It is a question of the conscience of those members to contribute the wealth that they have acquired,” he said.
The situation is desperate.
Mbalula revealed that even he has not received a salary for months. The party’s wage bill is R20-million every month, but the bank account is running dry.
Things have changed so much that delegates had to pay for themselves to attend the conference. Mbalula compared the new system to a Sunday service.
“We have copied the way of doing things like in the church,” he explained.
“Members of the ANC contributed individually to be here, from the point of transport to accommodating themselves.”
They even have to buy their own T-shirts now.
The financial crisis is so bad that the party refused to release its treasurer general’s report to the media.
The reality was visible on Monday. Unpaid staff staged a protest outside the Birchwood Hotel while wealthy party leaders drove past in luxury cars.
Despite the mess, Mbalula says the party will not sell its headquarters at Luthuli House or retrench staff.
He blames the Political Party Funding Act and a lack of international donations for the cash crunch.
Pictured above: ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula.
Image source: @MYANC
