Zuma says no thanks to ANC lifestyle audits

President Jacob Zuma has explained why he and the rest of the ANC’s elite will not be taking the “lifestyle audits” suggested by other senior officials.

Speaking at an ANC provincial rally in Limpopo on Sunday, Zuma lashed out at fellow ANC members calling for the audits to “behave properly”.

Zuma said that the ANC had already ‘pulled out all the stops’ to fight corruption, highlighting that corruption was “not a problem brought by us”, The Star reported.

He said that the party remained focused purely on the problems of the country and that now was not the time to reflect inwards on the party.

“It is the ANC that waged the war, together with the alliance, to fight corruption in South Africa. It has also gone further to establish institutions in government and it has arrested those who are corrupt”, said Zuma.

“It is the only organisation and its government… that has fought corruption.”

Lifestyle audits were originally suggested by the Alliance Political Council, a group comprising of the national officials of the ANC, SACP, COSATU and SANCO in October 2016.

The aim of the council was to clamp down on corruption and factionalism by conducting lifestyle audits on senior members.

ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe and Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa have subsequently both called for the audits to go ahead.

Read: Myeni blows millions on luxury hotels, donations and other dodgy payments: report