Mazibuko ‘did not conflate party and state’

A voice recording of Mazibuko was leaked on Wednesday where she is heard pressuring her staff to deliver sporting facilities - referred to combi courts - ahead of May's general elections.

Two other women in the meeting are heard pleading with Mazibuko that the sports facilities could only be constructed once the legal processes are followed.

Provincial secretary Jacob Khawe says the party does not encourage conflation between party and state.  

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"How she explained to me, is these courts have been identified to be done by the end of the financial year. They are in the budget and therefore she was emphasising the point that when you account to the people of Gauteng, and worse during elections, we said we'll do these courts and we have not done them, why? Can't we have do them or why can't we do them before the end of financial year?

“So on an accountability side, we want to believe that the department and the officials must give an explanation anyway. Why would they not have constructed the five remaining courts? It has nothing to do with the campaigning of the ANC."

Khawe says Mazibuko will be taken to task over her comments on race.

"We want to express our apology to the Indian community and the white community. The ANC stands for a non-racial society.

ANC deployment to such offices is not done based on colour, it is done based on merit because this is not the way of the ANC to attack people based on their race."

Mazibuko's spokesperson Nomazwe Ntlokwana says the MEC was merely frustrated at the lack of service delivery.

"She became emotional and used inappropriate tone and language to show her frustration at lack of delivery. The MEC, therefore, wishes to unreservedly apologise to all senior managers who were in that meeting, all staff members who are in the department, the premier and the people of Gauteng for the tone that she used and her general conduct in the meeting."

Ntlokwana says Mazibuko did not do anything unlawful, did not give unlawful instruction, but merely stressed the importance of achieving performance targets.

LISTEN TO MAZIBUKO'S RECORDING: