ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula has accepted embattled former minister of Sports Arts and Culture Zizi Kodwa’s resignation from the National Assembly a month after being sworn in as an MP.
The party’s alliance partner, Cosatu, also weighed in, implying that the ANC had made a bad decision to appoint him after his corruption scandal.
He wrote a resignation letter that included Parliament speaker Thoko Didiza on Thursday.
Kodwa leaves Parliament under a cloud after he has been embroiled in corruption charges in relation to allegations that he influenced the awarding of about R1.7 million contracts during his time as ANC spokesperson and member of the party’s national executive committee (NEC) between April 2015 and February 2016.
Kodwa and businessman Jehan Mackay are currently on R30 000 bail each after they appeared in the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Palm Ridge, Johannesburg, last month.
Both are due to appear in court again on August 21.
In his letter Kodwa, who also served as intelligence deputy minister, expressed gratitude to the party, saying he was vacating his MP status for personal reasons.
“It was a privilege and honour to serve the nation as a public representative of the ANC,” Kodwa wrote.
Mbalula followed this by a statement accepting Kodwa’s resignation.
“The secretary-general of the ANC, Comrade Fikile Mbalula, has received a letter from Comrade Zizi Kodwa formally communicating his resignation as a Member of Parliament. The letter is dated 24 July 2024 and the resignation is with immediate effect… The African National Congress has accepted the letter and wishes Comrade Zizi well,” it read.
There was widespread outrage last month after Kodwa was appointed to return to Parliament despite being charged.
Questions were raised as to why the ANC’s 2017 step-aside resolution had not been activated in Kodwa’s case.
Cosatu also welcomed Kodwa’s resignation implying that the ANC should have not had sent him to the National Assembly.
Its spokesperson, Zanele Sabela, reportedly asserted that the ANC had made an “ill-considered decision that undermined its progressive step-aside resolution”.
She also said Kodwa had done the right thing to resign.
“This sends the right message to society that the ANC has heard the voice of workers and is committed to cleansing itself and the nation of corruption and is willing to act when it makes a mistake,” she said.
Cosatu had laid bare its disappointment at the ANC when Kodwa was appointed, taking them to task.
“Cosatu is deeply disappointed that our ally, the ANC, has chosen to recklessly ignore its own step-aside resolution with the swearing in of comrade Zizi Kodwa as an MP,” said Cosatu parliamentary co-ordinator Matthew Parks.
“This is a poorly thought-through and ill-considered decision by the ANC. It sends a painfully worrying question to society on whether the ANC is committed to holding its public representatives accountable and its bold and necessary renewal campaign.”
On June 6, a day after Kodwa resigned as minister from President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Cabinet, he confirmed to the ANC that he would be stepping aside from all his duties in the party.
On May 10, ‘The Star’ reported that Kodwa disregarded the law in protecting his alleged friends in the appointment of officials at the National Arts Council.
The accusations emanate from the president of the South African Roadies Association, Freddie Nyathela, who said Kodwa was protecting senior civil servants in his office and making illegal appointments.
The Star