The ANC at its head office appears to be broke again, much to the level the party was used to during the tenure of its previous treasurer-general, Paul Mashatile.
This comes after incumbent treasurer-general Dr Gwen Ramokgopa failed to pay the February salaries of Luthuli House workers, including politicians who work on Pixely Seme Street full-time.
As of March 5, 2025, workers were in the dark about when they would receive their salaries, and their bank accounts were as dry as the Kalahari desert.
Consequently, the workers of the former liberation movement are in a state of panic and uncertainty.
Their emotional rollercoaster, which started with debit orders bouncing on February 28, has been worsened by the complete silence on why they were not paid.
As a result, they have been left with no choice but to speculate that the organisation is bankrupt.
Sunday World called a senior Luthuli House general worker, and right from the salutations, the employee could not waste time when asked how they was doing.
“How can I be fine my brother when we have not been paid our February salaries?” asked the angry ANC employee with years of experience serving the party diligently.
Treasurer-general mum
“I am so annoyed. I am now in a permanent bad mood, which is affecting people around me who have nothing to do with this.
“What is making the situation worse is that the treasurer-general has not said anything while disrupting the lives of so many people.”
The worker continued: “We are in deep trouble, I am telling you. I think the ANC is broke, and it has been bubbling under for a long time.
“Everybody has not been paid, including the secretary-general [Fikile Mbalula], head of organising [Mdu Manana], national spokesperson [Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri], and Sibongile Besani [who heads ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa’s office at Luthuli House).”
Several other workers concurred, saying they were all in distress with five days since month end and hearing nothing from Ramokgopa.
Some of the employees said they had home loans and vehicle installments to service, and the creditors have found nothing in their bank accounts.
“And remember that we will be penalised for that because when a debit order bounces without valid reasons, the bank must act and your credit profile gets negatively affected,” said another distraught Luthuli House functionary.
“I am so broke, my brother; I have become a nuisance to people asking for donations everywhere. This is a very bad situation, and there is no end in sight because the treasurer-general is saying nothing.
“What must we do when we do not even know if work is being done to remedy the situation? We thought things had changed under this Ramokgopa, apparently not.”
Service providers not paid
A senior person in the ANC said this had been a long time coming, as the ANC had also been defaulting to pay suppliers and service providers.
Apparently, the party had not paid for the big cake for its anniversary celebrations in Cape Town in January.
Also, it is said to have been a hide-and-seek game when it was time to pay the service provider who provided the fencing that was used as a barricade during the same anniversary rally in the open field in Khayelitsha.
Making matters worse, the insiders say, some service providers of the ANC birthday festivities of January 2024 in Mbombela, Mpumalanga, were also not paid.
Last year during an ANC communications workshop at a hotel at OR Tambo International Airport, the attendees were barred on day two of the session for having not paid their bill for the venue, a situation that was negotiated behind closed doors before they were allowed to continue.
Ramokgopa’s office said she was held in meetings and unable to respond at the time of publishing.
Her response will be added to the story when and if she responds.
