By Zukile Majova
Political Editor
For the first time since taking office in 2017, President Cyril Ramaphosa is in full control of the ANC and the government.
This means that Ramaphosa is now free to get rid of corrupt leaders in government and in state-owned companies.
Ramaphosa’s new power stems from the departure of Jacob Zuma from the ANC which protected the former president and others from being prosecuted for fraud and corruption.
ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula has already admitted that the ANC protected Zuma for wasting state money in the construction of Zuma’s R250 million Nkandla homestead.
Six months before the national general elections, Ramaphosa said he was going to the polls leading a much stronger ANC that is largely free of those who sought to divide its ranks.
Ramaphosa has been battling the so-called Radical Economic Transformation faction in the ANC, which has been campaigning to remove him and replace him with a pro-Zuma leader.
His strategy to frustrate Zuma by excluding him from important roles in the ANC finally forced Zuma out to join the uMkhonto Wesizwe (MK) party.
Since Zuma’s exit, a number of regional leaders implicated in criminal investigations and stealing public money have joined the MK party.
Mbalula said Zuma’s allies were victims of the party’s step aside resolution which forces leaders who are implicated in crime to step down from their positions.
Previously, they were allowed to remain in office until found guilty in court.
“If you look at all those people who are joining the MK, they all have cases against them. Thieves and criminals are packed there. They are following each other and they all have legal problems.
“We are fighting against crime and corruption. If you are a thief, your days are numbered,” said Mbalula.
He outlined the case of an Mpumalanga ANC leader from the Mkhondo Local Municipality who was implicated in murder cases.
“That was my first assignment in Mkhondo where I called Bheki Cele and we arrested those killers and there was peace in Mkhondo.
“Comrades had been killed by these people.
“And then I found those killers (in the MK) being called leaders,” said Mbalula.
The Zuma faction, which took over the ANC and its government in 2007, paralysed the state and looted state companies for over 10 years.
Its departure from the protection of the ANC is a major coup for Ramaphosa and paves the way for more people implicated in state capture to be prosecuted.
