Mayor 'bought' clout in ANC

23 February 2015 - 01:59 By Matthew Savides
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Durban's mayor James Nxumalo.
Durban's mayor James Nxumalo.
Image: File photo

ANC members were allegedly paid nearly R1-million to vote for Durban mayor James Nxumalo as the party's eThekwini chairman.

The sensational claim is made in a letter that a Durban branch deputy chairman sent to ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe and KwaZulu-Natal secretary Sihle Zikalala last week.

Mantashe refused to comment yesterday, saying he would not deal with complaints by branches "through a newspaper". Zikalala said he, too, was not prepared to discuss the allegations in the media. Nxumalo did not return requests for comment.

Nxumalo narrowly defeated Zandile Gumede, by 253 votes to 212, at the elective conference in Durban last weekend.

Violence in the build-up to the conference, including an alleged shooting at a branch meeting, had twice forced its postponement.

Nxumalo's victory has been clouded by allegations, including that certain branches were allowed to send delegates to the conference despite their credentials not being verified and against a direct order made by Mantashe the week before.

But it is claims of a money-for-votes scandal that are potentially most damaging for the party. eThekwini is the ANC's biggest and most influential region, sending more delegates to the national conference than some provinces.

In a letter to Mantashe and Zikalala, the deputy chairman of the ward 88 branch, Mbulelo Zulu, said that on the first day of the conference each delegate had received R200 and then R2000 to vote for "Comrade James and his collective".

They were promised they would receive a further R2000 after they voted for Nxumalo, he said.

"In total, it was R4200 per .... 235 delegates," wrote Zulu, implying that not every delegate was bribed.

He believed that fair processes had been "expensively sold . through bribery".

"This raises questions as to the possibilities for those who do not possess the financial resources to exercise fairly their legitimate democratic right in any contested environment."

Zulu, who asked Mantashe to investigate his claims, confirmed he had sent the letter but was unwilling to discuss it.

"I have not yet received a response," he said yesterday.

The ward 45 branch secretary, Simiso Mkhize, claims - also in a letter to Mantashe and Zikalala - that the ANC KwaZulu-Natal leadership selectively allowed certain branches that supported Nxumalo to attend the conference.

In a letter to Zikalala, dated February 11, Mantashe singled out the three wards, specifically stating they should not be accredited for the conference.

Mkhize said the eThekwini conference should be declared "null and void".

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