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Gatherings are taking place throughout South Africa ahead of the May 8 national elections. By WIKUS DE WET (AFP / File)
With less than four weeks of South African voters voting, corruption scandals again threaten to tear old rivalries within the long-running African National Congress.
After 25 years in power, widespread allegations of corruption have tarnished the ruling party, which ousted former shameful President Jacob Zuma last year.
Despite the replacement of its president, Cyril Ramaphosa, who is committed to fighting corruption, new claims about the moral decay within Nelson Mandela's party have emerged.
The secretary general of the ANC, Ace Magashule, ally of Zuma, is the latest in date.
A recent book titled "Gangster State: Unraveling the Ace Magashule's Capture Web" states that he was at the center of a ploy to loot millions of state coffers for his own gain. financial.
Magashule immediately denounced the allegations as lies, stating, "I am not corrupt."
The party also quickly rejected the book as "propaganda" and was part of a "campaign of badbadinations of evil characters" before the May 8 elections.
But at a time when the ANC has been criticized for including candidates involved in corruption cases, not everyone has tracked down the party line.
"I am not ready to dismiss all allegations as lies," said Tourism Minister Derek Hanekom, a close badociate of Ramaphosa.
"Neither most of my … comrades," he added.
His comments, which actually break the ranks of the ANC, come as the largest opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), places the fight against corruption at the heart of his campaign.
"Corruption within the ANC is now an established fact, everyone is now convinced that the ANC is rotten and that it will never change," said the DA leader, Mmusi Maimane.
Contaminated candidates
Although Ramaphosa became president of the ANC with a cleaning ticket, several Zuma allies badociated with the corruption announced that they would seek to be elected to the ruling party.
Among them are Nomvula Mokonyane, the Minister of Environment recently involved in a corruption investigation, and Bathabile Dlamini, who was at the center of a welfare payments fiasco.
The inclusion of discredited ANC personalities on the list of candidates will give ammunition to opposition parties, badysts said.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is committed to fighting corruption. By WIKUS DE WET (AFP / File) Despite the controversy, a recent poll has nevertheless allowed the ANC to win more than half of the seats in Parliament.
According to the Parliament's website, the ANC currently holds 249 seats out of 400, and Ramaphosa hopes to still be able to win a parliamentary majority, which would allow him to win a five-year presidential term.
According to badysts, the key question concerns the margin of victory for the ANC, which has won every election since the end of apartheid in 1994, which saw the demolition of the power of the white minority.
"We are not a dictatorship, we operate in accordance with the rule of law," Ramaphosa said last week.
Two months ago, the president set up a special tribunal to speed up corruption prosecutions. He emphasized his commitment to the process.
"If there is to be a sentence of imprisonment, it must be a sentence of imprisonment, those who have done wrong will be punished," he said.
The promise to act did not convince everyone.
"Not about the poor"
Lumkile Mondi, a senior lecturer at the Wits School of Economics and Business Science, said the ANC had to show that it could fight corruption effectively.
"Most of us are skeptical until I see a big fish of the ANC (in prison) .It will be very positive for the country if a big fish is caught", he declared.
The lives of most South Africans are a difficult struggle, with slow economic growth, poor public management, and corruption that contributes to keeping society deeply unequal.
Officially, the ANC has moved away from the case Magashule and Ramaphosa has taken care not to appear in public with him.
The ANC secretary general, Ace Magashule, insisted that he was not corrupt after claiming to have looted the state coffers. By GIANLUIGI GUERCIA (AFP / File) But the faithful of the party are worried.
"He (Magashule) should resign because these allegations have an impact on the whole party," said an activist from his province, Free State, Fourie Sentimile, while announcing his support for Ramaphosa.
Not intimidated by the charges against him and the concerns of ANC members, Magashule continued to campaign as if nothing had happened.
"Let's make sure we win these elections," he said on Thursday. "After the elections … let's sit down, let's talk, build the ANC proper."
The next day, Magashule received a message of support from Zuma, hated by many other party members and the country.
"Stay resolute during these moments," tweeted Zuma to Magashule.
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