[imagesource:here]

At this stage, if you haven’t figured out that the ANC is a self-serving mess, then all hope is probably lost.

If you were still somehow hanging on by a thread, and thinking that President Cyril Ramaphosa was going to singlehandedly steer the ship in a new direction, the recently released ANC list of candidates for Parliament and the provincial legislatures should put that to bed.

ANC Secretary-General Ace Magashule (pictured above) announced the names, which is apt considering that he himself is deeply implicated in state capture, as well as gross mismanagement of the Free State government.

As the Daily Maverick points out, it’s the usual suspects, who bring with them a documented history of being rotten to the core.

Ace doesn’t care, as long as they aren’t behind bars:

As Magashule put it on Wednesday about those facing questions about their conduct, “They are all in the list, they are qualified. Anybody, anybody who has not been found guilty by a court of law is in the list.”

Qualified for what?

You may recognise these four names, which really do stand out:

Magashule includes in that people like Malusi Gigaba (who resigned after a judge found he’d lied in the Fireblade case and his sex tape appeared on social media), [Bathabile] Dlamini (found by the Constitutional Court to have lied under oath in the social grants payments system scandal), Mosebenzi Zwane (below, who as the Mineral Resources Minister flew to Switzerland to arrange the favourable sale of the Optimum Coal Mineto the Guptas), and [Nomvula] Mokonyane (who left the Water Affairs Ministry in complete disarray and has beenaccused at the Zondo Commission of receiving money and goods from Bosasa).

He’s right in that none of these four people are currently in jail, but the fact that the party still considers them fit to serve in the corridors of Luthuli House, and Parliament, tells you everything you need to know.

Kind of ironic, when you consider that this statement was released by the ANC in January of this year:

“The ANC is under no illusion that its lists must enhance its integrity, with a calibre of public representatives that are capable of advancing the electoral mandate of the ANC.”

Gigaba, Dlamini, Zwane and Mokonyane aren’t the only rotten eggs in the mix, but they are certainly the standouts.

Via News24, let’s just touch in with Mokonyane’s past again:

Mokonyane was responsible for the “complete collapse” of the department of water affairs and sanitation with parliament’s standing committee on public accounts asking for criminal charges and a full inquiry into its affairs.

And Angelo Agrizzi, the don of one of the ANC main sponsors Bosasa, told Deputy Chief Justice Ray Zondo of R50 000 in bribes paid to her while she was Gauteng premier.  Mokonyane, said Agrizzi, also demanded meat, booze and other gifts for Christmas.

But yeah, integrity and all that.

Gigaba’s woes have been well documented (culminating in penis size comparisons in Parliament), so let’s go over Dlamini once more:

Dlamini, one of the worst performing ministers in the government of former president Jacob Zuma, was slammed by the Constitutional Court last year for her handling of the social grants debacle in which the livelihoods of millions of people were threatened.

The court said she was “reckless” and “grossly negligent” and instructed the National Prosecuting Authority to consider perjury charges against her for lying under oath.

I can put up with terrible, rambling interviews on the SONA red carpet (just), but she literally endangered the livelihood of millions of the most vulnerable South Africans, who rely on social grants to survive.

Where is the accountability?

To finish, here’s Zwane:

Zwane was an unabashed and unapologetic “Guma” envoy in Zuma’s Cabinet. As minister of mineral resources – and with the blessing of Zuma – led an inquiry into the commercial banks’ decision to excommunicate the Guptas, and also personally intervened to enable the family to purchase Tegeta, a company that owned the Optimum coal mine that the Guptas bought with the aid of Eskom.

The ANC may as well just change their slogan to “Aloota continua”, which I believe translates to “let the looting continue”.

Ultimately, the list shows how much of an uphill battle Ramaphosa faces. Back to the Daily Maverick:

…it appears that President Cyril Ramaphosa may have lost this round, perhaps making the chances of the party losing Gauteng greater now. Also, the idea of the ANC winning 60% in the national election is now possibly off the table, which is likely to weaken Ramaphosa further. In short, the composition of the list, as it is currently known, may well be an important turning point in this election.

Again, the ANC’s power players just don’t care.

[sources:dailymav&news24]