Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Mmusi Maimane has linked the CR17 campaign controversy to the “patronage system” in the African National Congress (ANC).
In a video he posted on Twitter on Tuesday, Maimane said the ANC’s patronage system means the party can even deploy people to Chapter 9 institutions.
Cadre deployment
He said the ANC decided that it would capture the state by deploying cadres that are loyal to the party and not to the citizens, and by capturing institutions of government.
Maimane claimed that the CR17 campaign used the same modus operandi that has been used all along in the ANC, that is, paying off members for support or rewarding them with positions.
These members then become loyal to individual leaders or simply to the party, he claimed.
And the rest is history. You can even deploy people to positions of Chapter 9 institutions. This is a dangerous trend.
DA leader Mmusi Maimane
Maimane said South Africans should not simply focus on President Cyril Ramaphosa, but on the whole system of ANC patronage.
If we’re not careful, another faction will come on board. It will take over government. It will pay at conference a much higher fee.
And then after that deploy more cadres, buy judges, buy journalists, and it’s only a matter of time before our democracy is a shadow of what it ought to be.
DA leader Mmusi Maimane
Leaked statements
Leaked bank statements belonging to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s CR17 ANC presidential campaign reveal how funds were channelled to various beneficiaries in the ANC.
Some of them include ministers Khumbdzo Ntshavheni and Fikile Mbalula as well as deputy minister Zizi Kodwa.
Ntshavheni has insisted that the funds she received were used to cover campaign-related expenses such as meeting venues, transport, food, airtime and data.