The ANC’s national executive committee (NEC) has asked that the shooting in Marikana not be used for political gain, secretary general Gwede Mantashe said yesterday.
“The special NEC appeals to all South Africans that nobody must use the tragedy for political and opportunistic reasons,” Mantashe said in a statement.
“It the NEC expressed its support for the judicial commission of inquiry and… the composition of the inter-ministerial committee by government.”
The African National Congress held a special NEC meeting yesterday. Police opened fire on striking Lonmin platinum mineworkers on a hilltop in Marikana, North West, last Thursday, killing 34 of them and wounding 78.
Workers had been on strike for nearly two weeks, demanding that their salaries be increased to R12 500 a month. President Jacob Zuma appointed a commission of inquiry, headed by retired Supreme Court of Appeal judge Ian Farlam, to investigate the shooting.
Mantashe said the NEC was also looking at reports on local government and its performance. “This follows the completion of the ANC’s internal monitoring report and the recent Auditor General’s report.
“Both reports had highlighted areas considered to be posing a challenge in the composition and functioning of local government,” he said. A report by AG Terence Nombembe, released in July, revealed that only five percent of municipalities received clean audits, while none of the country’s metros received clean audits.
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