ActionSA national chairman Michael Beaumont said the ANC’s “people’s march” on Friday had nothing to do with fighting corruption, but an initiative to take back the Tshwane metro.
“Anything the ANC does where they talk about fighting corruption or delivering services should be viewed with scepticism. Fighting the ANC is fighting corruption,” Beaumont said.
“When the ANC came to power in this municipality, they were held guilty of rampant corruption.”
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Beaumont said outside the Olievenhoutbosch police station on Friday, where the party paid R2 million in bribes to the Defenders of the People (DOP).
According to Beaumont, councilor and former Tshwane MMC for human settlements, Kgosietsile Kgosiemang, was approached by a DOP member who allegedly promised him R2 million if he voted against the mayoral candidate of the Democratic Alliance (DA) led by mayoral candidate Cilliers Brink.
He said Kgosiemang was allegedly offered an annual salary or a salary that would keep him as MMC to vote against Brink.
Dr Murunwa Makwarela was later elected mayor after eight councilors in the DA-led coalition voted for the ANC and EFF-led coalition, a move the DA called a betrayal.
Beaumont said this was unacceptable as the DA-led coalition had a majority awarded by the people of Tshwane.
“The majority is being undermined by individuals who buy or sell votes like shares on the stock exchange and cannot be tolerated,” he said.
“The DOP council is not acting independently. “I don’t think the DOP has R2 million available.
“There is a group of political parties that participated in the coup, bought the majority through a bad process.
“We want to call the police to establish a major investigation to check the involvement of parties like the ANC and the EFF in this.”
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He said an investigation had been launched and closed several councilors who may have been involved in bribery.
DOP General Secretary Aubrey Maake said: “The allegations are just lies because how does it benefit DOP to bribe people to vote for Dr Makwarela?
“If we were to join a coalition, maybe I would suspect that our councilors would join.”