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Rethink possible on contracts

It may be time to reconsider the role of Chancellor House, the ANC’s investment arm, in several contracts it has won – not because anyone is doing anything wrong, but because of the “noise” surrounding this, the party’s treasurer-general, Zweli Mkhize, says. Emphasising that there had been no proof of anyone having done anything untoward, Mkhize told the Cape Town Press Club on Tuesday: “Just for the noise it creates, I don’t know if it (Chancellor House) is helpful as a commercial venture.” Earlier this year, the ANC investment arm stood uncomfortably in the spotlight after delays occurred at Medupi because of problems with the welding of the boilers. Chancellor House has a 25 percent stake in Hitachi Power Africa, which supplied the boilers.

It’s not the first time the ANC is mooting a relook at its role at the Medupi and Kusile power stations, estimated to net Chancellor House R50 million over eight years. In 2010, then-treasurer Mathews Phosa also raised this possibility. Chancellor House was established in 2003 by then-ANC treasurer-general Mendi Msimang to raise funds and is believed to be active in the mining, engineering, energy and information technology fields. It hit the headlines in 2006 when the Mail & Guardian published its first exposé on Chancellor House. Regarding the governing party’s fund-raising efforts for elections next year, Mkhize declined to be drawn on the details, other than to say: “The ANC is alive and well.”

On private donations, Mkhize said it was important there was support for parties, as they were part of the constitutional democracy. But there should be a system that would allow private donations to be made without the “partisan” label being used, while no one in political parties should be seen to be trying to exert undue influence. Also, avoiding conflicts of interest was crucial. “We need to normalise it.” However, private donations would remain confidential unless donors chose to declare them. Mkhize said no one would object if those who controlled the fiscus improved their support “a little bit” – a reference to the Represented Political Parties Fund, which falls under the Independent Electoral Commission. The fund allocates money from state coffers to political parties on the basis of their strength in the country’s legislatures.

Interviewed after the press club meeting, Mkhize said the ANC had implemented resolutions taken at the Mangaung national conference on private donations to record donations and issued receipts for donations in kind, ensuring there was no conflict of interest.

Source: www.iol.co.za

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Rethink possible on contracts

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