Politics

ANC’s Duarte Claims Ruling Party is Not Broke, Just Having Cash Flow Issues

Wednesday, May 12, 2021 at 9:13 AM by Denika Herbst

- African National Congress (ANC) deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte said on Tuesday that the party is not broke, contrary to reports

- Duarte said since the Party Funding Act came into effect at the end of April and that has limited sponsors in funding the party as they now have to be named

- Duarte said the ANC’s financial troubles are no secret and that the act has heightened cash flow issues that they are working on to resolve

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African National Congress (ANC) deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte came forward to clear the air on claims that the party has run out of money, saying that the ruling party is not broke, they are just having some cash flow issues.

It was on Tuesday, 11 May that Duarte said sponsors have gone quiet since the Party Funding Act came into effect at the end of April, which requires that sponsors' names are made public. Apparently, sponsors do not want to be identified as they believe it will tarnish their reputations in business.

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“So, they don’t want to be known that they fund the ANC and they believe that it might be bad for business.”

Duarte admitted the ANC is facing financial struggles that are evidently no secret to the public. Sticking to the reason of the new act being the issue, Duarte believes these issues will be ironed out in due course.

ANC’s Duarte claims ruling party is not broke, just cash flow issues — ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte says the party is not broke, they are simply facing some cash flow issues. Image: @MYANC
Source: Getty Images

Duarte also spoke on the leaked audio from the weekend special NEC meeting. In the audio, treasurer-general Paul Mashatile can be heard talking about the possibility of halving the ruling party's staff, strengthening claims that the ANC is broke.

Setting things straight, Duarte made it clear that it's just not possible to chop half of the staff, even if it were the plan, as the law does not allow for it, so no one needs to worry.

“The labour law does not allow us to simply willy-nilly reduce staff by 50%, we have to go through various processes if indeed we do make such a critical decision.”