Embattled former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede Picture: Doctor Ngcobo/African News Agency(ANA)
Durban - FORMER eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede yesterday told the ANC KZN provincial integrity commission that they were being hasty by asking her to appear before them before a court had ruled for or against her.
The meeting lasted for about three hours at the ANC’s provincial headquarters in Durban.
A source said Gumede had argued that if the grilling continued before the commission, it would jeopardise her defence when the corruption trial finally got under way.
“She said that it was too early for her to appear before the commission as even the National Prosecuting Authority was still scrambling to put together a charge sheet. So she said she was not defying the party, but merely raising concerns that have huge legal implications for her as any report could be used to pin her down in court,” said the source.
Thabani Nyawose, the man hoping to take the reins of the ANC eThekwini Region from Gumede and ultimately become city mayor, says nothing will come out of her appearance at the commission because former president Jacob Zuma still has influence within the provincial leadership structures of the party.
Should the commission find against Gumede for her alleged role in a R430 million Durban Solid Waste (DSW) tender scandal, it will have to make a recommendation to the provincial executive committee (PEC) about her future, with the PEC being obliged to act on the recommendation.
Gumede will be allowed to appeal against any finding, and should a decision not be reached, the national executive committee will have to step in.
The six-person commission is led by former SANDF military intelligence officer and ANC veteran, 66-year-old Sipho Magwaza,
“I don’t think anything will come from the process,” Nyawose said.
Nyawose’s brother, eThekwini councillor Sthenjwa Nyawose, is also set to appear before the commission for his alleged role in the scandal, as are councillors Nomthandazo Shabalala and Thembelihle de Lange.
“The ANC has been deeply involved in the politics of Zuma. There are very few people in the province who never at one time supported Zuma. There are still Zuma elements in the integrity commission and in the PEC,” he said.
The party’s provincial chairperson, Premier Sihle Zikalala, was in a “difficult place”, said Nyawose.
Gumede was a known Zikalala ally, and both were known allies of Zuma. It was thanks in large part to the votes of Gumede’s supporters that Zikalala was able to oust former KZN ANC chairperson Senzo Mchunu. But that relationship quickly soured as Zikalala started grooming himself for bigger things, and put away his ANC KZN secretary days to take up the top political position in the province, he said.
Gumede is widely believed to blame Zikalala for being recalled as mayor, although the party denied it was because of her alleged role in the DSW scandal. Instead, according to the ANC’s current secretary, Mdumiseni Ntuli, the decision was because Gumede and her eThekwini ANC Exco team had failed in their duties at the city. Gumede now sits in the Legislature, after being redeployed.
Gumede’s spokesperson, Mzo Dube, said it was “ridiculous” to bring Zuma into Gumede’s commission hearing.
“I won’t even (blight) the former president’s name by responding to it,” he said. “Nyawose is a master of propaganda.”
Gumede is currently out on R50 000 bail.
Dube conceded there were “issues” with yesterday’s meeting because it was still unclear what charges she would be facing in court. He said the entire DSW scandal had done more harm to Gumede’s reputation than that of the ANC.
“She has been portrayed in a bad light, but she has never been charged for her alleged involvement.”
There were “senior comrades” who knew Gumede was innocent, but would not speak out about the political persecution she was facing, he said.
While the Hawks have not made public any indictment against Gumede in the DSW case, a founding affidavit by Clean Audit Task Team member LieutenantColonel Ngoako Mphaki presented to the court when she was arrested, said there was “prima facie evidence” against her.
He said Gumede, along with coaccused and then chairperson of the city’s infrastructure committee, Mondli Mthembu, “played a major role” in making sure waste contracts were handed illegally to four specific companies.
ANC KZN spokesperson, Nhlakanipho Ntombela, told The Mercury that 12 other ANC KZN members were also due to appear before the commission. Once all had been interviewed and their cases considered, a statement would be released, he said.
The Mercury