The newly elected African National Congress (ANC) Veterans League in Limpopo has called for timelines to be imposed on party members and government officials who have been instructed to present themselves before the Integrity Commission (IC) in relation to the VBS scandal.
Provincial secretary of the structure, Sechaba Nkoana, said the resolution was taken at the first ordinary meeting of the provincial executive committee (PEC) following their 3rd ANC Veterans League conference held earlier this month.
During the meeting, a provincial working committee (PWC) was elected, and PEC sub-committees were appointed.
Among ANC leaders implicated in the VBS fraud and corruption scandal is former treasurer Danny Msiza, his successor Nakedi Sibanda-Kekana, deputy chairperson Florence Radzilani, who is also the province’s Community Transport Safety and MEC Florence Radzilani and former SAPC provincial secretary Gilbert Kganyago.
“The Veterans League welcomes the ANC PEC decision for directing all the comrades who are implicated in the VBS to voluntarily submit themselves to the Integrity Committee headed by Reverend Frank Chikane.
“The Veterans League has also expressed its displeasure about the manner in which some of the implicated officials from various municipalities, who resigned, were given golden handshakes and how some moved from one municipality to the another, despite the cloud hanging over their heads,” said Nkoana.
The league said the swapping of these officials ignored the fact that millions of rands meant for service delivery were lost to enrich comrades.
“The Veterans League is thereby imploring the ANC PEC not to leave the resolution open-ended but impose strict timeframes for the implicated comrades to appear before the Integrity Committee within a reasonable time period,” he said.
The league leaders said they were happy with how their members viewed the issue of renewing the ANC.
“The deliberations of the first meeting were characterized by enthusiastic inputs by the members of the PEC as they sought to demonstrate their keenness to participate in the renewal of their beloved organisation, the ANC.
“The meeting discussed the problem of lack of thorough consultation between the ANC and its leagues and among members of the alliance. This has led, among other things, to the deployment of cadres who are unsuitable and unqualified for their tasks,” said Nkoana.
“The PEC vehemently stated their resolve to take part in all structures, committees, fora, and processes of the ANC to give effect to the renewal of the organisation. It is not possible to lead the renewal of the organisation when the Veterans League is acting its part on the periphery.”
Nkoana said they were also closely watching the performance of the ANC-led provincial government, led by Premier Stan Mathabatha, on its promise to fill vacant posts and provide employment to young people.
“The Veterans League further appreciates the decision of the provincial government to address the issue pertaining to unemployment by directing all the departments to reprioritise and fill all the funded vacant posts.
“This must be done to deliberately target gender equity, people with disabilities, and youth unemployment. This is applauded as a significant step towards promoting diverse representation within the public service,” said Nkoana.
