EFF Gauteng slams ANC for abuse of State resources after holding NEC meeting in Germiston
The ANC relocated its NEC meeting to the Germiston Civic Centre over the weekend due to several issues.
ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa and deputy Paul Mashatile attend the NEC meeting in Boksburg. Picture: Thabiso Goba/ EWN
JOHANNESBURG – The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in Gauteng has slammed the African National Congress (ANC) for its alleged abuse of State resources after the party held its National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting at a government facility in the City of Ekurhuleni.
The ANC relocated its NEC meeting to the Germiston Civic Centre over the weekend due to several issues, including inadequate heating and ventilation at the original venue in the south of Johannesburg.
It's understood that the party couldn’t hold its NEC meeting at its usual spot at the Birchwood Hotel, in Boksburg, because of financial difficulties and outstanding payments to the venue.
This situation has upset some opposition parties, who are questioning how the ANC was allowed to hold its event at a government building without incurring any costs.
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"This brazen abuse of municipal infrastructure illustrates the ANC’s tendency to blur the lines between the State and the party, and to treat public property as its private quarters. It is an insult to the people of Gauteng and Ekurhuleni, in particular, that the ANC, embroiled in bankruptcy and unable to fund its own events, now exploits public facilities to conduct internal meetings, even at the expense of ordinary council operations,” said EFF Gauteng spokesperson Dumisani Baleni.
He claims the EFF in Ekurhuleni was affected by the ANC’s decision to hold its NEC meeting at a municipal facility.
"As a result of this meeting, the EFF caucus in the city was compelled to postpone its induction programme because the ANC locked down the civic centre, deploying State resources and police to create an exclusive zone to save the fast-decaying former liberation movement from public embarrassment. These actions by the ANC are not only disgraceful, they also play a role in compromising service delivery to the people of Ekurhuleni.”