The African National Congress (ANC) in Mpumalanga’s Ehlanzeni region has refuted claims that its regional leader, Jackie Macie, is of Mozambican origin and has no matric certificate. This was in response to an Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) statement mocking Macie’s swearing-in at the Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature this week.

Provincial EFF leader Collen Sedibe said Macie, a former Council Speaker at the Nkomazi Local Municipality, was not fit to become a lawmaker as he had not completed Grade 12.

“The EFF in Mpumalanga is highly amazed and disappointed by the swearing in of the new ANC member of the provincial legislature, Mr. Jackie Macie, who was sworn in on May 15, 2023, replacing the late Hon. Bheki Lubisi.

“Jackie Macie was [recently] working in the legislature attached to the Office of the Speaker until his swearing in as MPL. What is amazing and equally disappointing is that with all this ANC cadre deployment he has enjoyed for years, he still does not possess a matric certificate,” said Sedibe.

He said cadre deployment was the reason there were no services in communities across Mpumalanga because the policy did not consider qualifications. The EFF leader further claimed that Macie was born in Mozambique. 

“Not minding his originality as a Mozambican born national who has since been legally naturalised in SA and as a Pan Africanist Movement that believes in Africanism and self-love from all African people, we believe Mr Macie had an ample time to register with Cedibanga or night’s school to complete his matric,” said Sedibe. 

“He did not care because he always knew that his organisation, the ANC, does not care about education and it will deploy and redeploy him anyway as he is a Regional Chairperson and belongs to a powerful faction of the day. The Legislature is a highly regulated environment that requires people who can read and write as it deals with legislation that governs the country.” 

Sedibe further said that Macie’s alleged under qualifications would work against him in his new role. 

“How will a person without matric understand irregular, wasteful, and fruitless expenditures as well as the budget process and the MTEF, MTSF, accruals, fiscal dumping, etc.? Unlike the ANC, the EFF has long urged all of its Public Representatives who do not have matric to register, rewrite and pass their matric examinations.”

ANC secretary in the Ehlanzeni region, Folas Sibuyi said the EFF’s claims were baseless.

“The EFF has willfully added their own imaginary requirement for qualification as a member of a provincial legislature. The ANC therefore rejects all these flimsy claims made against our Regional Chairperson Comrade Jackie Macie,” Sibuyi said. “The ANC in Ehlanzeni Region has full confidence and supports the deployment of Comrade Jackie Macie who is joining the capable team in the Mpumalanga Legislature that his work ethic, skills and capacity will enhance the oversight work and lawmaking to advance the interest of our people in the province.”

Sibuyi added that it was untrue that Macie is originally from Mozambique. 

“The ANC is comfortable to make known to the public that Comrade Jackie Macie is the second child of Mrs. Celinah Mashaba from Giyani and Mr. Samuel Macie. He was born in Dobsonville in Soweto Gauteng province on the 17th of March 1976 at Chris Baragwanath Hospital.  

“The first thing we all acquire upon birth is citizenship. Citizenship provides each one of us with pride and a sense of belonging and it is a gateway upon which each citizen can exercise and enjoy all rights entrenched in the Bill of Rights. The claims that Comrade Jackie Macie is not a South African are false and damaging to [his] dignity,” he said.

The Regional secretary said he was personally in possession of Macie’s birth certificate.

“Unfortunately we cannot share [it] for obvious security reasons. Comrade Jackie’s family moved to Transvaal, now Mpumalanga Province, in the early 80s and settled in Dludluma in Nkomazi where he finished his primary school at Mbombo Primary School and went to Mjokwane Secondary School where he wrote and successfully passed his matric,” Sibuyi said.

Macie referred media queries back to the regional secretary.