Nathi Nhleko, the former Minister of Police, joins the growing list of politicians departing from the ruling party, following in the footsteps of another former parliamentarian who resigned several weeks ago.
However, Nhleko has yet to reveal whether he intends to join another political party. Nonetheless, he cited the loss of political direction within the ANC as his reason for leaving.
In a letter addressed to senior ANC leaders, Nhleko expressed his dissatisfaction with several aspects of the party.
His discontent arose particularly from a rift with ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula, who publicly acknowledged a previous instance where they allegedly misrepresented the Nkandla report years ago to shield former President Jacob Zuma. This revelation came in the wake of a parliamentary inquiry into the substantial R250 million expenditure on upgrading Zuma’s residence in Nkandla several years ago.
Mbalula recounted that Nhleko appeared tense during parliamentary proceedings when he attempted to justify the conversion of the swimming pool into a firepool as part of efforts to absolve Zuma of any wrongdoing regarding the Nkandla issue.
This move was made in an effort to exonerate Zuma from any culpability in the Nkandla scandal. However, the Constitutional Court’s ruling on the Nkandla matter affirmed the authority of the Public Protector, establishing that her findings held legal weight and were binding.
Following instances where ANC MPs had challenged the authority of then Public Protector Thuli Madonsela, Nhleko’s departure from the ANC came as a significant development.
Nhleko, who had been affiliated with the party since the 1970s, announced his decision to leave on Monday. In his departure letter, he referenced remarks made by Mbalula, particularly those made earlier in the year when former President Zuma joined the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party.
“In the recent attack mounted against my person, by a Mr Fikile Mbalula, a Secretary-General of the ANC; about what he called ‘my sweating’ , ‘the firepool narrative’ and what he called were ‘lies to protect the former president. He closed his attack by stating that people lost their careers because of this thing’,” said Nhleko.
He asserted that Mbalula’s statements regarding Nkandla were misleading, emphasizing that thorough research had been conducted on the project.
Nhleko cited a shift in policy direction as the reason for his departure from the ANC, lamenting that the party had deviated from its original principles.
He claimed that the government was in the process of privatizing State-Owned Entities (SOEs).
“The trend of gradually dismantling SOEs and subsequently privatising them covertly is exemplified by the situation at Transnet. Transnet transport volumes exceeded 220 million tons in 2018, by 2022 this figure had dwindled to nearly 170m tons.”
He further noted that the government’s austerity measures have had extensive consequences, such as reductions in social spending. He pointed out that the annual increase in the old age grant, previously at 8%, has now been reduced to 4%, with additional cuts anticipated over the next three years.
He mentioned that the structural reforms being carried out are based on recommendations from the International Monetary Fund.