Africa-Press – South-Africa. ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula said Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan complained to President Cyril Ramaphosa after Mbalula had asserted that Gordhan needed to fix the logistics network or be removed from his portfolio.
Speaking mainly in isiXhosa on Monday at the ANC’s local government workshop, Mbalula said Gordhan “cried” following the secretary-general’s comments at the ANC Women’s League conference over the weekend.
“The minister cried so much that I had to change my stance and even release a statement. That minister even cried to the president, asking why I singled him out. I was even called out by Derek Hanekom, that freelancer,” Mbalula said, speaking to laughs from party members gathered in Boksburg, Gauteng.
Speaking on Saturday at the recently-concluded ANC Women’s League conference, Mbalula told more than 3 500 delegates that the South African Reserve Bank had noted that the country’s rail infrastructure had to be improved for fewer trucks to be on the road and faster economic development. The country’s economy is currently growing at a measly 0.4%.
Alluding to Gordhan, whose portfolio is responsible for logistics parastatal Transnet, Mbalula said the minister had to move quickly, or he would be “moved [out]” – intimating that Gordhan could face the axe.
Mbalula, as the ANC secretary-general, occupies a position akin to a company chief executive and plays an important role in party deployments.
The ANC released a statement following Mbalula’s rebuke of Gordhan, stating that Gordhan “would not provide answers alone facing our rail transport system”.
On Monday, Mbalula said he would “attend” to the “freelancer that is Hanekom” but that he was not attacking Gordhan.
This was after Hanekom called Mbalula out for his attack on Gordhan.
Service delivery
Meanwhile, in his address, Mbalula acknowledged that outsourcing at ANC-led local governments had led to “fraud and corruption” in municipalities, including “poor” service delivery.
In another startling admission, Mbalula said the tender system – although initiated for black economic empowerment that he said was a “must” – had “weakened local government because we have outsourced everything”.
Mbalula conceded:
He said officials in municipalities play a role in rampant fraud and corruption.
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