CAPE TOWN – The African National Congress says that it will retract the statement it issued in the wake of the allegations of state capture leveled against party secretary-general Ace Magashule in Pieter-Louis Myburgh’s book ‘Gangster State – Unravelling Magashule’s Web of Capture’.
The book alleges that Magashule, during his time as Free State premier, tapped into the proceeds of a contentious R230 million “asbestos audit” deal awarded by his provincial Human Settlements Department in 2014.
The ANC said that the allegations were an attempt to deface the organization in the run-up to the May elections.
In an interview with CapeTalk’s Kieno Kammies, ANC spokesperson Dakota Legoete said that after consultation with the party’s leadership, it will retract the statement saying that there was an orchestrated media campaign against the ANC.
“We have consulted with our leadership as well as the officials of the ANC and I will issue a statement to retract what we have said in that particular matter,” Legoete said.
According to News24, an ANC source has added that Magashule had no right to issue a statement over the allegations in the book as the claims were a personal matter.
According to the source, the ANC’s top six agreed that Magashule would deal with the allegations in Myburgh’s book on his own.