Reverend Frank Chikane said only five members appeared for Zondo commission-related offences. Picture: Simphiwe Mbokazi/African News Agency (ANA) Archives
Joburg – Reverend Frank Chikane, the new chairperson of the ANC’s integrity commission says the Zondo commission yielded 97 cases that implicated the party's members.
Chikance says they issued summons to the implicated parties to explain themselves and only a few showed up.
He made these revelations on Wednesday night during an interview with the SABC News channel where he was talking about the work of the commission and the task before it to restore integrity in the party.
Chikane assumed the position early this year taking over the chairing of the commission from George Mashamba.
He admitted that the integrity of some of their members was questionable.
“What we need it’s a leadership with integrity, a leadership that’s not compromised and those of course who are compromised they have got the possibility to go through the integrity commission.
“And go and say I did the following and I am compromised, how do we deal with that, we can deal with those issues.
“But we can’t have people that are so compromised that we can’t even fix the country, we need to fix the country, that’s critical,” he said.
He added that there are criminal networks that have compromised the people across the board, not only in the ANC.
“I didn't say (criminal) networks inside the ANC because that’s a different meaning altogether, I am saying there are criminal networks that compromise our people and our leaders.
“Put them in a situation where they cannot do what they are supposed to do and indeed the commission it’s about people inside the ANC.
“That’s why I am saying our focus its on making sure that the leaders of the ANC are leaders of integrity and ‘that ethically you can rely on them because that’s what the nation is demanding.
“For you to be their leader you need to be trusted, so we need to make sure that those who are compromised declare, they can come to the commission this is what has happened, how do we deal with this better and then we deal the issue,” Chikane told the interviewer.
It was during that interview that he revealed the number of cases he found when he took over and the number of members that were implicated during the Zondo commission.
He did not name the members.
“When I arrived I was appointed on February and we reviewed all the cases that were before the commission and we looked at the Zondo commission case.
“There were about 97 cases referred to the commission, last year, after the (Zondo) report and they were given two… three months to report to the commission and explain themselves.
“Only five came, the rest didn't, so we wrote to the leadership and said well, they didn't come in terms of your own instructions and you had said if they don’t come to the commission they go to the disciplinary committee.
“So all these cases have been referred to the disciplinary committee, so there is action.”
sihle.mavuso@inl.co.za
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