Gigaba raises his hand for ANC Secretary General role

Malusi Gigaba, a former minister of home affairs and public enterprises, is said to be the most recent ANC member to declare his candidacy for secretary-general (SG). This is ahead of the party’s 55th elective conference in December.

Speaking to IOL this week, Malusi Gigaba asserted that he had “the pedigree of the SG” and was the ideal candidate for the position.

The former minister, Malusi Gigaba, advised that the secretary-general should have “the ear of the party president” and that it would be advantageous if they got along well.

The ANC needs an SG who is going to be there first and foremost. The fact that the SG only fulfilled a portion of his tenure is one of the deficiencies and flaws of the movement over the past five years. The SG was unavailable for the remainder of the term and on step-aside, which was a problem for head office, according to Gigaba.

Due to allegations of fraud and corruption, Secretary-General Ace Magashule has been suspended. “I’ve spent 26 years on the national executive committee. You can now understand the movement thanks to that. I’ve worked for four presidents and just as many secretaries general. I now know how the organization is managed thanks to that. One can learn from the previous secretary-general, he remarked.

The organization has several people on the card to fulfil the role of SG. ANC general manager Fébé Potgieter, transport minister Fikile Mbalula, water, and sanitation minister Senzo Mchunu, and former Gauteng health MEC Gwen Ramokgopa are just a few of the individuals who have been mentioned as potential candidates for the role.

Based on accusations made by his estranged wife Nomachule Mngoma, the updated state capture investigation report on Thursday suggested that law enforcement agencies look into Gigaba to charge him with corruption.

Mngoma implicated Gigaba in state capture during his testimony to the investigation last year. When Gigaba appeared before the inquiry, he refuted the accusations.

In the revised report, the committee suggested that law enforcement agencies look into allegations of corruption against Gigaba regarding financial payments he is said to have received during visits to the Gupta property in Saxonwold in 2013.

It also suggested an inquiry to ascertain whether the Guptas gave him money to pay for his wedding and whether they funded the vacation he went to Dubai in 2014 or 2015 with his wife, intending to prosecute him on a charge of corruption and/or racketeering.

In response to the publication of the second portion of the report, Gigaba said that Raymond Zondo, the inquiry’s chair, wished to “kill” him politically. Gigaba said on Twitter that Zondo had not discovered any evidence to support a recommendation that he be charged with corruption three years and R1 billion earlier.

“Instead of clearing me, he requests further investigation in the hopes that doing so will bring political ruin upon me. If only his handlers and he were aware,” Gigaba remarked.

Also read: Jacob Zuma wants to be the ANC chair