OPENING STATEMENT BY COMRADE GWEDE MANTASHE ON BEHALF

OF THE AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS (ANC) TO THE JUDICIAL

COMMISSION OF INQUIRY TO INQUIRE INTO ALLEGATIONS OF STATE
CAPTURE, CORRUPTION AND FRAUD IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR
INCLUDING ORGANS OF STATE

1. I am the National Chairperson of the ANC and address the Commission

on behalf of my organisation. When the ANC met the banks, I was the
Secretary General.
2. At the outset I wish to put in context the importance of the work of this
Commission and explain why all South Africans, both black and white,
should embrace the Commission with open arms.

3. As the ruling party in government, the ANC carries the obligation to build
a South African nation and a strong capable state. Since 1994 we have
come to learn that there are no shortcuts or quick fixes to nation and
state building processes.

4. But the ANC exhorts all South Africans to persevere. We have to endure
the pain and emotional trauma of building a nation with a single national
identity out of the ashes of a racially-divided and inhumane past and we
have to build a strong capable state from an exclusionary and illegitimate
past.

5. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission fulfilled an important role in

the post-apartheid nation building process. As a young democracy we
have achieved, in a relatively short period of 24 years, a degree of
consensus on past cultural traditions, customs, symbols, rituals and the
historical experiences of black and white people. This proved to be a
strong indicator of the willingness of the different racial groups in our
country to come together for the common good.

6. In just over two decades, we have succeeded in laying down a strong

legislative and ethical framework of accountability and good governance
that compares favourably to countries that have been in existence since

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 the evolution of the states system more than 350 years ago.

7. The constitutional democracy and freedoms we enjoy today sits

precariously on the sacrifices made by thousands of comrades who were
exiled, imprisoned, maimed, bludgeoned to death and hanged.

8. We must jealously guard our victories and not allow anyone to drag us
back to a racially-divided society where the rule of law was selectively
used and where the majority of people existed as soulless, dehumanised
individuals.

9. We should not shy away from our collective responsibility to protect our
freedoms and we should not be deterred by fear.

10. Against this backdrop, this Commission stands as a reality check on:-

10.1 How far we have progressed as a nation;

10.2 What values we are shaping for ourselves and bequeathing to

future generations;

10.3 What lapses some members of the National Executive, past or

present, suffered; and

10.4 Whether, as a nation, we have succumbed to the scourge of

corruption.

11. In the view of the ANC, this is probably the singular most important
reason for the establishment of this Commission and equally the
primary reason why all South Africans should protect the Commission
at all costs.
12. The ANC will make its submission to the Commission in four parts.

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13. Today the ANC will respond to the evidence given by the banks, explain
why it met the banks and what internal processes were followed
thereafter.

14. At a future date I will be given an opportunity to respond to comrade

Barbara Hogan’s allegation that I improperly and/or unlawfully sought
to use my political influence to interfere in the management of
Transnet by insisting on the appointment of Mr Siyabonga Gama as a
CEO of Transnet.

15. In the same session I intend to deal with comrade Hogan’s remarks
about the ANC’s Polokwane Conference and an allegation that I
demanded that Mr Godsell should not be returned as Chairperson of
the Eskom Board.

16. In her oral evidence which was not part of her written submission,
comrade Hogan alleged that comrade Jessie Duarte, the Deputy
Secretary General and a senior leader in the ANC, was part of State
Capture and that comrade Ahmed Kathrada was poorly treated.

17. Comrade Hogan should be given an opportunity to withdraw or

substantiate these allegations.

18. For her part, comrade Jessie Duarte is prepared to come before this
Commission at any stage to rebut the allegation that she was part of
State Capture and rebut any other allegation made against her.

19. The ANC believes that a key output of this Commission should be the
relationship between Party and State. When the Commission makes
time in the new year, the ANC will provide information about its
Deployment Policy adopted by its National Executive Committee
between January and July 1999 with specific reference to:-

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 19.1 The Deployment Framework;
19.2 Guidelines for deployment to various centres;
19.3 Deployment and Human Resource Development;
19.4 Co-ordination of deployees;
19.5 Organisational culture of the ANC;
19.6 Guidelines on the relationship between constitutional structures
of the ANC and government executives;
19.6 Guidelines on the role and criteria for ANC Premiers;
19.7 Criteria for the appointment of Premiers;
19.8 50th ANC National Conference resolution on Cadre Deployment
Policy; and
19.9 52nd ANC National Conference resolution on Organisational
Renewal.
20. It its final submission to the Commission, ANC President, comrade
Cyril Ramaphosa, will respond to a broad set of issues relating to the
ANC which arose in evidence before the Commission and will explain
what action the ANC took and why it omitted to intervene in
circumstances when it should or could have done so.

21. To assist the work of the Commission, the ANC calls on all its
Members, who may have information on the under-mentioned Terms
of Reference of the Commission, to come forward with such
information:-

21.1 Whether, to what extent and by whom attempts were made to

influence members of the National Executive (including Deputy
Ministers), office bearers, and/or functionaries employed by any
state institution, organ of state or directors of the Boards of
State-Owned Entities;

21.2 The nature and extent of corruption in the awarding of contracts,

tenders to companies, business entities or organisations by

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 public entities listed in Schedule 2 of the Public Finance
Management Act;

21.3 Whether there were any irregularities, undue enrichment,

corruption and undue influence in the awarding of contracts,
mining licences, government advertising in the New Age
newspaper and any other governmental services in the business
dealings of the Gupta family with government departments and
SOEs,

21.4 Whether any member of the National Executive and including

Deputy Ministers, who unlawfully or corruptly or improperly
intervened in the matter of the closing of banking facilities for
Gupta-owned companies; and

21.5 The nature and extent of corruption in the awarding of contracts

and tenders to companies by government departments in
particular, whether any member of the National Executive
(including the President), public official, functionary or any
organ of state influenced the awarding of tenders to benefit
themselves, their families or entities in which they held a
personal interest.

22. Finally, the ANC calls on all its members to step up and answer
allegations made against them at the Commission.
Dated at Johannesburg this 27th day of November 2018

GWEDE MANTASHE
NATIONAL CHAIRPERSON
AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS

Enquiries:
Zizi Kodwa
ANC HEAD OF PRESIDENCY
082 330 4910