African National Congress (ANC) Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula says former Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Zizi Kodwa has stepped aside from being a member of the ANC (National Executive Committee (NEC) following his court appearance yesterday on charges of corruption.
[JUST-IN] #ZiziKodwa has stepped aside from his responsibilities as an ANC NEC member and head of deployees in KZN. This follows Kodwa being criminally charged. #sabcnews pic.twitter.com/ueAXWLeayx
— #LordOfTheMedia (@samkelemaseko) June 6, 2024
The charges stem from recommendations against him in the State Capture Commission Report over bribes amounting to R1.6 million.
Mbalula says Kodwa voluntarily stepped aside from his party duties.
“Zizi has stepped aside, he has not resigned, whilst he addresses the issues that he’s facing, and he has done that voluntarily, informed by the policy of the ANC. He is not forced to do it. And to that, we are very much grateful to him for taking a step that has been taken before by comrades like Mike Mabuyakhulu and all of that.”
VIDEO | ANC SG Fikile Mbalula briefs the media ahead of the start of the NEC meeting:
Meanwhile, Mbalula says the group calling itself #NotWithDA protesting outside the venue where the ANC is holding its NEC meeting in Boksburg, east of Johannesburg, is misinformed.
The group says it’s against an ANC-DA (Democratic Alliance) coalition.
Mbalula says talks are ongoing with different political parties but they have not agreed to a coalition with any party at this stage.
“The ANC has never said that it’s going into a coalition with the DA. The question of the strategic framework is going to look into the outcome of the elections and the outcome of the election as we all know does not favour the ANC. And in this instance, we did outline that we are talking to everyone, who in terms of the leader board, it is quite clear in terms of the significant numbers that they have received. The message from South Africans, as outlined by the President is very clear – work together.”
Alliance partners, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and the South African Communist Party (SACP) have also rejected the possibility of an ANC-DA coalition.
-Additional reporting by Viola May
