ANC deputy president Paul Mashatile has finally had his day to account to allegations against him before the party's integrity commission.
Mashatile was summoned to appear before the integrity commission chaired by the veteran Reverend Frank Chikane in Houghton yesterday (Saturday).
Insiders say Mashatile was one of the few ANC leaders who were scheduled to appear before the commission after a spell of negative publicity that implicated him in misconduct.
"He was called to account for all the allegations mentioned against him in the media. The commission has been trying to get him to appear, but he was always busy with government work and organisation," said the source.
Insiders say, before he was summoned to appear, Mashatile was the one who wrote to the commission volunteering to explain himself after he was implicated in wrongdoing.
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Said the source:
He has always subjected himself to the processes of the organisation, but the only thing that was left was for him to appear in person.
His appearance before the integrity commission comes barely a month after Justice Minister Thembi Simelane was summoned to explain herself about the allegation of misconduct involving the loan she obtained from VBS while she was still a mayor.
According to the source, the commission wants Mashatile to take the party and the country into his confidence about all the allegations he was accused of.
City Press sister publication, News24, reported that the deputy president is facing scrutiny from multiple angles, including allegations of those who appear to fund his lifestyle, including his son-in-law, Nceba Nonkwelo, and his sons, Thabiso Mashatile and Tinyiko Mvelase.
It was also reported that the Hawks in the Western Cape were investigating the source of funds used by Nonkwelo to buy a luxury R28 million Constantia home in Cape Town.
The source said Mashatile's appearance before the commission was long overdue.
Said the source:
A lot has been said about him, and he has always kept his cool. I think this is the right time to take the party and the country to confidence, because he can explain all those things said about him. If he had done it earlier, it would have meant that he was going to appear every time the media wrote something about him.
Last week, the party's national executive committee (NEC) resolved that members who had failed to appear before the integrity commission to account after being implicated in the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture should be referred to the party's national disciplinary committee.
In his closing remarks at the NEC meeting, the party president, Cyril Ramaphosa, revealed that only 34 out of 97 officials who had been implicated in the Zondo commission had appeared before the integrity commission. The source said other NEC members were scheduled to appear, including former minister of finance Malusi Gigaba, David Mahlobo and Cedric Frolick, who have been implicated in corruption scandals.
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"This is part of the party's effort to clean its image and ongoing renewal project," said the source.
Mashatile's appearance before the commission comes a day after charges of corruption against former minister of sport, arts and culture Zizi Kodwa were withdrawn. Kodwa was forced to step aside and appear before the commission after he was criminally charged in connection with corruption in June.
"We are going to push for Kodwa's return to the NEC, as he is now a free person," said the source.
ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri said the party was not going to comment on the processes of the organisation.
"When members of the party appear before any of our committees and commissions, it is done in the spirit of allowing members to explain themselves," she said. Bhengu-Motsiri said they would not discuss how those processes were unfolding.
"We can talk about it after the commission has concluded the process, which includes an investigation and calling members to explain," she said.
