ANC tells critics its party meetings are nobody’s business

By Palesa Matlala

• DA ministers Dean Macpherson and Siviwe Gwarube banned officials from ANC study group meetings, saying the sessions undermine their departments.

• ANC Chief Whip Mdumiseni Ntuli says the meetings are legal, voluntary and help MPs prepare for parliamentary committee work.

Three ministers in South Africa’s coalition government have banned their officials from attending ANC internal meetings, saying the briefings are being used to work against them. The ANC says it will not stop holding the meetings.

The dispute is the most open sign yet of friction inside the Government of National Unity between the ANC and its partners.

DA ministers Dean Macpherson, who oversees public works, and Siviwe Gwarube, who leads basic education, have both issued directives barring their departmental officials from the sessions. FF+ minister Pieter Groenewald, who heads correctional services, has done the same. Groenewald went further, setting up an internal hotline for staff to report violations of his ban.

The DA has also lodged a formal complaint with the Public Service Commission. United Democratic Movement leader Bantu Holomisa has raised the matter with National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza.

The opposition parties argue that government officials should not attend meetings of a political party. The DA says the practice violates the constitutional requirement that public servants remain politically neutral.

ANC Chief Whip Mdumiseni Ntuli rejected that view. He said the study groups are used to prepare ANC MPs for parliamentary committee meetings and that officials attend voluntarily, to provide technical information on complex government documents.

“As the name study group suggests, these are preparatory forums where ANC MPs analyse documents and prepare for committee meetings,” Ntuli said.

He denied that officials are given instructions or that any decisions are taken during the sessions.

“They are certainly not sinister attempts to facilitate some kind of state capture in any form,” Ntuli said.

The Public Service Commission has confirmed it received the DA’s complaint and is expected to investigate.

Pictured above: ANC Chief Whip Mdumiseni Ntuli defends the party’s study group meetings.

Image source: Mdumiseni Ntuli/Facebook