• Mondli Gungubele has described using the law to justify children of political leaders conducting business with the state as "embarrassing and outrageous".
• He says it is "rascal behaviour" when people use the law to defend children of politicians benefitting from the state.
• He adds that ANC leaders have to pursue the highest ideal and not simply comply with the law.

ANC national executive member Mondli Gungubele says ethical standards should take precedence over legal ones when it comes to children of leaders doing business with the state.

He has vehemently opposed the justification that kids and family members of politicians are allowed by law to do business with the state. He says it cannot happen simply because it is legal. 

"For any leader to find it normal for children of people running the state to have access to millions, purely on a basis of legality, must be embarrassing and, to me, it's outrageous," said Gungubele.

President Cyril Ramaphosa and his supporters are pushing for the ANC to discourage its leaders from allowing family members to do business with the state, but the plea fell on deaf ears in the ANC's national executive committee (NEC) meeting this weekend. 

Corruption within the party's ranks has come into sharp focus after it was revealed by the Sunday Independent that Ramaphosa's spokesperson Khusela Diko's husband, Chief Madzikane II Diko, scored a personal protective equipment (PPE) tender worth R125 million from Gauteng's health department.

The department is headed by the couple's friend, Bandile Masuku, who serves with the presidential spokesperson in the Gauteng ANC's provincial executive committee. He is also a friend of the Dikos. 

ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule's sons were awarded contracts in the Free State, NEC member Nomvula Mokonyane's daughter is said to have secured a tender to provide soap for Gauteng's health department, while a relative of Deputy Minister in the Presidency, Thembi Siweya, also scored from a deal with the Limpopo province.

News24 reported it was argued in the NEC meeting that the state was the biggest procurer of goods and services, and it was unfair to ask family members of politicians not to do business with it.

Law & ethics 

"When people benefit on the basis of the law and don't care about how society feels about the nature of that benefit, it feels to me, like that's rascal (behaviour)," said Gungubele.

He said the principle of ethical standards promotes values such as trust, good behaviour, fairness and kindness as opposed to a legal imperative, which is what some in the ANC have used as an excuse to defend family members, linked to party leaders, getting contacts worth millions from the government.

"When you ask society to give opportunity to run the state, which belongs to society, you don't want to be found wanting on issues of trust, good behaviour, on issues of fairness and equality," Gungubele told News24.

He says the party had to pursue the highest ideal and not simply comply with the law. 

On Tuesday, the ANC released a post-NEC statement, where the party said it was "embarrassed" by claims of corruption involving its members. It vowed to act.

Gungubele said he was happy to see the party's post-NEC statement, describing it as strong, impressive and striking the right tone.

He was, however, dissatisfied with the justification that kids of party leaders could benefit from state tenders because the law doesn't prevent them from doing so. 

He likened it to when ministers were questioned for driving expensive vehicles in 2009, and they threw the ministerial handbook at the matter.

"There we were at cross-purpose with ethical standards," observed Gungubele.

He said when joining any organisation, the expectation was that one made a sacrifice to align with its mission and imperatives, and that this is what was required to govern effectively.

"All principles over and above the law sustain trust and make sure there is fairness, which should be adhered to," he said.

In his weekly newsletter, Ramaphosa said if public servants and political office bearers are serious about restoring public trust, which has been severely eroded by corruption, they must avoid even the perception of a conflict of interest.

"If, as public servants and political office-bearers we truly care about the public whose interests we claim to represent, we must allow ordinary members of the public who have interest in doing business with government a fair chance to bid for such business opportunities, instead of passing on inside information about opportunities to our families and friends," Ramaphosa said.