ANC misusing public funds - DA

The Democratic Alliance accused the ruling party of “blatant abuse of public funds to bolster the ANC’s election campaign”.

Johannesburg - The Democratic Alliance on Sunday accused the African National Congress of “blatant abuse of public funds to bolster the ANC’s election campaign”.

Gauteng finance MEC Barbara Creecy had budgeted R100 million of provincial funds to drive up voter registration in the province - despite the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) receiving R1.5 billion a year from taxpayers to do so,” DA Gauteng MPL Ashor Sarupen said.

With a tighter budget this year due to an ailing economy, it would be more conducive if these funds were used in Gauteng provincial departments in financial trouble - particularly the health department which owed R1.4 billion in accruals and had not been able to pay suppliers on time.

Another way in which this money could have been more productively spent would have been to further increase the drought assistance package - short of an estimated R120 million.

“Instead, the ANC-led government has embarked on [a] vanity campaign which is more like an effort to promote the premier and the ANC rather than the election itself. This is a blatant abuse of public funds to bolster the ANC’s election campaign,” Sarupen said.

African News Agency