'But the ANC Wants Votes': Mzansi Weighs In on The ANC's Failure to Pay Salaries

• Employees of the African National Congress have been met with another blow as the party informs them that they will not be getting paid this month
• Workers have not been paid their salaries since July and September will be the third month the ruling party fails to pay them
• The party informed them in a letter a day after ANC's Head of Elections Fikile Mbalula announced they planned to spend R50 million on their election campaign

JOHANNESBURG - Following ANC's Head of Elections Fikile Mbalula's announcement in a radio interview that the ruling party is budgeting to spend R50 million on their local government elections campaign, the party wrote to their workers that they will not be getting their salaries this month.

The party has been failing to meet its obligation to pay workers their salaries since July and have told workers not to expect payment this September either.

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In a letter written by ANC general manager Febe Potgieter-Gqubule, he apologised to the workers for not being able to pay them for the past three months.

Potgieter-Gqubule stated that the party has been dealing with financial constraints since the Covid 19 pandemic began, according to the Mail & Guardian.

The letter also highlighted how the party now also has to find resources for the local government elections as well as raise money for the campaign. The letter also stated that budgets for the elections have been reduced because of the challenges, reports EWN.

The ANC says it has been doing its best not to retrench workers and have never been in a position where they were unable to pay salaries for three months.

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South Africans took to social media to react to the news that the ANC will not be paying salaries for the third month. This is what they had to say:

@niehaus_carl said:

"What an utter dispicable disgrace! How do these @MYANC leaders expect staff to survive? And then they still expect staff, like slave labourers, to continue working for elections??"

@zuzileconsuting said:

"Honestly who can live without a salary or a pension for that matter for 3 months??? This is so sad!!!"

@Mosito987 said:

"Problem started when they overstaffed their offices with people with no job descriptions, just like they did with municipalities, now they can't fire those people and the people are demanding salaries..... ANC must retrench"

@CHRISMBELE6 said:

"They only have money for campaigns as for the unpaid workers they are on their own.... On the other side COSATU has made it clear that they support the ANC in the upcoming elections, so angazi nokhala kubani kodwa chubekani no Khongolose wenu "

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@Star_Vhembe said:

"So basically the don't care about their staff since they can campaign with 50m. How can they possibly care for citizens/voters."

@mpiwa_nkululeko said:

"but the ANC wants votes so how can we vote for a broke party when we the society are broke imagine service delivery Aman!"

@GlennJen said:

"So why does the ANC not start retrenching employees like most organizations have to do when they run out of cash (actually before that). It is a painful process but sometimes its just a reality!"

ANC plans to spend R50 million on election campaign but can't pay workers their salaries

Briefly News previously reported that with the local government elections nearly five weeks away, the African National Congress is already on the campaign trail and is willing to spend whatever is necessary to fulfil their campaign plans.

ANC's Head of Elections Fikile Mbalula says the ruling party is looking into spending approximately R50 million on their election campaign.

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Mbalula says the amount is not set in stone and is subject to change, however, the ruling party is not looking to spend more than R50 million, reports The Citizen.

Mbalula added that because the campaigning period is short, there are things the ANC "can live without."

Source: Briefly News