Funding of the ANC in South Africa: new revelations from the Zondo anti-corruption commission

South African President and ANC leader Cyril Ramaphosa speaks at the party's anniversary rally on January 8, 2022. AFP - PHILL MAGAKOE

Text by: RFI Follow

2 mins

This commission has been investigating for four years the extent of corruption under the presidency of Jacob Zuma (2009 to 2018), suspected of having been at the heart of a vast system of corruption in which money from public companies was embezzled for the benefit of private interests.

Previous reports have shown how certain individuals got rich: the Gupta brothers in particular, associated with Jacob Zuma.

In this new part, the Commission explains how the ANC, the party in power, would have benefited greatly from the financial support of a private company to campaign.

Advertising

Read more

with our correspondent in Johannesburg,

Bosasa was the government's all-purpose company.

A private group very much in demand by the South African state to provide it with services, particularly in prisons, such as the canteen.

With Jacob Zuma in power, the state guaranteed big contracts to Bosasa, who in return showered the political class with bribes.

Bosasa was also central in funding ANC election campaigns.

A former director testified that the premises of Bosasa had been transformed several times into campaign headquarters, what they then called "a war room", to elect Jacob Zuma.

Asked about the subject last year, Cyril Ramaphosa, vice-president of the ANC at the time, acknowledged the facts and spoke of an "anomaly", without however feeling responsible for the situation.

For his part, Jacob Zuma believes that these pseudo revelations “do not even deserve the paper on which they were written.”

For the opposition, this report is whey.

The Democratic Alliance (DA), sees it as "the most damning confirmation to date that the ANC is an organized crime syndicate masquerading as a political party".

Set up in 2018, the Zondo commission issued its first

 This new report is the final part of the investigation.

►

: in South Africa, the Zondo commission publishes its 2nd report on corruption under the Zuma era

Newsletter

Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox

I subscribe

Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application

google-play-badge_EN

• South Africa

• Corruption

• Justice