'No, we are not all equal,' Magashule tells ANC councillor in verbal tiff

Confusion, chaos and mayhem marred the programme of ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule on Thursday.

Magashule, accompanied by national executive committee member Zweli Mkhize, was caught up in the factional battles of the Francis Baard region when warring factions pulled them in opposite directions.

This led to Magashule having to abandon a door-to-door visit at an informal settlement in the small town of Jan Kempdorp.

In the single house Magashule managed to visit in the informal settlement, he came head to head with ANC councillor Jackson Papaye who poured his heart out about his frustrations and corruption in the area.

Though Magashule listened attentively to the passionate Papaye, the conversation ended awkwardly with a dispute about whether all ANC members were equal.

Papaye said: “No one is bigger than the ANC, even my secretary-general Ace Magashule, you are not bigger than the ANC. Let us all be equal in this regard.”

Magashule rebutted: “No, we are not all equal. The highest body in the ANC is the national executive committee and the leader of the ANC is the president so we are not equal as simple members of the ANC.”

Papaye told Magashule how corruption and ANC regional factions had failed the community of Jan Kempdorp. “I have a big problem of electricity [provision to this area], there was R3m that was meant to install electricity here and another R4m that is coming,” said Papaye.

“I realised that there is fraud and corruption because it cannot be that there is more money added when we do not know what happened to the R3m.

“I wrote to everyone including the REC [regional executive committee] and the PEC [provincial executive committee] but nothing happened. I then wrote to the public protector but that was not before I informed the former mayor and deputy mayor.”

Magashule promised to come back to the community but did not say when.

That was before he tried to go to more houses in the informal settlement but ANC local leaders started to physically pull him in different directions.

Magashule had to abandon the mission.

He went to another community for a door-to-door visit but was apparently at the wrong place. His convoy then had to turn back to visit the intended community where he visited two houses.

The confusion did not end there as the convoy had to be turned back in one of the areas in Jan Kempdorp because it had taken a route with impassable roads.