Nelson Mandela Bay African National Congress (ANC) councillor Andile Lungisa has written to the party’s top 6 officials on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s CR17 campaign for the ANC Presidency.
In the letter dated 25 August, 2020, Lungisa accuses Ramaphosa of acting against the “culture, tradition and internal organisational processes” of the ANC by raising funds from businesspeople for his campaign.
He claims that as a result, “delegates were bought” at the NASREC conference and that “our regime is wholly bought and owned” by a “white neo-settler class.” Lungisa wants the ANC’s Integrity Commission to “pronounce” on the matter. Read his letter in full below.
“In his 1941 Presidential Address to that year’s ANC National Conference, Dr Xuma said:
To Congress we must be loyal and true. For Congress, we must forget any personal or sectional interests or gain. We must put the cause and the interests of the people before any expediency…To be true leaders, we must put the interests and welfare of our people above our own.
Much later, in a December 1955 Letter to the ANC, published in January 1956, Dr Xuma said:
Leadership means service for and not domination over others. True and genuine leaders serve the cause of the people and do not expect the cause to serve them or become a source of profit and honour for them. Africa expects all her sons and daughters to serve the cause of the people loyally, sincerely and honestly.
Today, I am writing this letter to the National Officials of the African National Congress motivated by President Dr Xuma. Taking to account the primary role of the African National Congress, as the steward of civic cohesion, insurer of geo-political integrity, guarantor of social progress, and a depository of national experience, is to direct society’s gaze to the vefita effettual (effective truth) of national redemption, commonly known as the National Democratic Revolution. This task must be undertaken with revolutionary moral clarity and energy.
This letter serves to request the National Officials to attend to the long-outstanding matter which has to do with the alleged money which was used to campaign for the current sitting President of the ANC towards the 2017 NASREC ANC Conference.
To refresh the memory of the Officials on standing resolutions which bind the Party until the next National Congress, I wish to draw to your attention the 53rd National General Council as reaffirmed by 54th National Conference on safeguarding the core values of the ANC which said:
1. Having noted that the gradual erosion of the core values of the ANC threatens its continuing existence in the second centenary, Conference agrees unanimously that safeguarding and promoting the core values of the ANC constitute one of the key tasks of second phase of the transition.
The promotion of our core values should be undertaken within the context the ideological struggle to cultivate progressive values among all South Africans as part of building a national democratic society.
2. Conference reaffirms the NGC resolution on the setting up of the Integrity Commissions at all levels of the organisation. More urgent steps should be taken to protect the image of the organisation and enhance its standing in society by ensuring, among others, that urgent action is taken to deal with public officials, leaders and members of the ANC who face damaging allegations of improper conduct. In addition, measures should be put in place to prevent abuse of power or office for private gain or factional interests.
We do not lead to gain status or praise, but to bend history to our will. Some of us we will continue to be driven only by the desire – to see the ANC restored to its rightful position in our country. I was once accused whilst I was still serving as a Provincial Executive Member from which I stepped down without being told or forced to do so. Even currently I raise all these urgent matters knowing that I am personally facing a political offence which was committed in the line of duty, defending myself when I was attacked by members of the opposition.
This letter on Cde President Cyril Ramaphosa being taken on Integrity Commission is not based on expediency as some simpletons will accuse me of. It is based on pursuing parts that are good for the years that will benefit and strengthen the ANC and allow its leadership to implement conference resolutions.
This is because I am wondering what would have been the attitude if it were my campaigners who fundraised close to 1 Billion, but it seems we are expected to be quiet because it is President Ramaphosa’s campaigners. There is a hardcore evidence today more than millions [were] fundraised to unduly influence delegates at Nasrec.
There is an affidavit to the Public protector wherein Cde President Cyril Ramaphosa in his own words admitted to the fact that bank accounts were opened for the purposes of fundraising for his campaign to be ANC President. This happened whilst he was on record speaking against membership buying and using money to influence outcomes of the Conference. In one video he is quoted saying:
The campaign started unfolding… it was realised that MONEY was needed to run the campaign. The campaign managers took a conscious decision where they said… you are the candidate and we are going be the managers of the campaign ….. And there will be a full range of other people throughout the country who will also get involved in the campaign. On the ground people will do a number of activities… they will raise money… they will raise money for meetings and so forth and you will never get know about that… at the top level we will go out and source funding for a number of activities… And of course, I knew that MONEY was being sourced, but I was never told about the intricate issues that they got involved in… I never got to know all the other details that went into the funding of the campaign.
In the history of the ANC this has never happened. It is foreign culture in the movement where money is raised by businesspeople in support of a candidate to emerge using their financial influence which was proven to influence the Conference outcome. In his political report in the 2007 Polokwane Conference Cde President Thabo Mbeki spoke harshly against such behaviour in the movement. This action is in direct contravention of rule 25 of the ANC Constitution and the Integrity Committee must pronounce on this if we are to continue being the legitimate leader of society.
It must be noted that the money was not raised for an ordinary ANC but for a sitting Deputy President of the ANC. He knew that such collection of millions was done in his name and to influence the outcome of a conference of the ANC. He further did nothing to call the grouping out of order or better to bring the officials of the ANC into confidence about this foreign tendency. His actions were against culture, tradition, and internal organisational processes.
In political terms delegates were bought in that NASREC Conference. This has never happened in the history of the ANC of having bourgeoisie raising money for individuals to contest positions in the movement. It presents an existential threat to the project of the National Democratic Revolution. As the leaked emails revealed, our regime is wholly bought and owned by a Trojan horse of the white neo-settler usurper owning class that is hostile to the liberation movement and the African people it represents.
Those among us who are committed to the dismantling of the neo-colonial racist power structures that permeate our society can ill afford any complacency in the face of such a threat. Leading figures of this regime have made no secret about their intentions of weakening and fragmenting the ANC as they have correctly concluded that a strong and unified ANC is a threat to their continued dominance of our economic-cultural life.
I hope that this letter will remain within the structures of the organisation and that State institutions will not be used to attack me including the nakedly partisan media that act as a mouthpiece of the neo-settler ruling class.
UKUPHELA KWETYALA – S.E.K. MQHAYI
Hoyina! Hoyina! Hoyina! Godukani zizwe ityala; Godukani, bantu, iphelil' intw' ebithethwa. Utsho ke yen' uZanzolo Lutsh' uhlwathi lowo kaGcaleka, Uzigodlwana zemaz' endala, Zingalal' endleleni, yazini kunyembelekile. Itsh' inkunz' abayokhuz' ukuhlab' ingekahlabi; Kazi boze bathini na min' igwebayo? Yivani zizwe, sininik' indyebo yentliziyo, Yivani zizwe, sinibalisele
It is now abundantly clear that the country is on the cusp of a perfect storm of a simultaneous political and economic crisis. “Kazi boze bathini na mini’igwebayo.” The stenographers of the white owning class cannot fathom that their project of undermining the course of transformation is at the heart of the crisis that threatens to undo the fragile social cohesion that holds the country together.
It was the American revolutionary and second President of the United States, John Adams, who when reflecting on the British arrogance and tyranny in a different age, opined, ‘Power always sincerely, conscientiously, believes itself right. Power always thinks it has a great soul and vast views, beyond the comprehension of the weak.’ Ndinethemba ukuba iqoqo eliphezulu lakuyijonga liyiphendule lencwadi yosiba ebhalwe ngulombundlwana osathukuzayo ukujonga our leadership would do well to learn the fate that befell the British empire.
When we all no longer trust the leadership and the comrades, we will only be left with one option – dramatically changing the structures of our society.
Revolutionary Regards,
Andile Lungisa, ANC Member, Ward 2 Molly Blackburn Branch Nelson Mandela Region.”