In the wake of the suspension of both Marius Fransman, the chairman of the ANC in the Western Cape and its secretary, Faiez Jacobs, the party now has a golden opportunity to clean up its act in the province.
Cape Town Mayor Patricia De Lille has rightly stated that the provincial structures of the ANC has been left rudderless and that the party is in disarray, but De Lille should not gloat too soon.
Luthuli House has the ideal chance to rid themselves of dead wood in the Western Cape and if they do the right thing by sending in the very best, brightest and most deserving comrades to woo voters in the Western Cape, they may give the DA a real run for their money.
Rumour has it that the 2016 local government election won't take place before August, giving the ANC six months to do some serious spit and polish - something their tainted image seriously needs.
Fransman has always been regarded as a Zuma loyalist and has never been very popular inside (or out) the party structures.
The ANC needs new blood in the province and with the DA experiencing many problems of their own, some honest, hard work should pay off at the ballot box.
Just here in Eden and George the DA has more than enough of its own share of problems. Mayor Charles Standers stands accused of abusing his wife, Eden DA Councillor Tertuis Simmers is being investigated for electricity theft, George Councillor Henry Jones is suspended after accusations that he sold plots that did not belong to him and Eden Mayor Wessie van der Westhuizen is facing a disciplinary hearing by the DA Federal Legal Commission.
What the charge against Wessie (as he is endearingly known) entails is still not in the public domain, but apparently it has something to do with 'behind the scenes' politics in Oudtshoorn and his involvement in certain shenanigans that brought the party in disrepute.
Then there's the Dianne Kohler Barnard scandal that saw her demoted to the back benches after she re-posted something on her Facebook page that created the impression that she was longing for the days of apartheid.
And on top of that, although not in the Western Cape, a certain DA birdie named Wendy Sparrow then ranted about littering monkeys on social media and all hell broke loose. Eish...
(I wonder if it's also racist to refer to someone as a bird or is it only sexist?)
Back to the ANC's chances in the Western Cape. To counter the DA in the Western Cape the ANC needs leaders with squeaky clean resumes. (I'm not talking of an absence of matric...) Leaders who can stand the harshest scrutiny and who do not play the race card to secure votes, but who address real problems and propose practical, workable solutions.
They now have the chance to clean up their act without having to betray certain 'loyalties', as it seems that Fransman and Jacobs have made themselves redundant.
The DA leadership in the Western Cape should actually be hoping that the ANC reinstates Fransman following the sexual harassment investigation, as this would pave the way for another landslide win for the DA in the province.
But this is unlikely.
Now that President Zuma has agreed to 'pay back (some of) the money', it is clear that the prez's popularity in the top structures of the party is waning and that is very bad news for many politicians who depend on Number One's goodwill for their own survival.
George Bernard Shaw summed it up: "A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul."
But what happens if he stops paying Paul?
BY ILSE SCHOONRAAD, GEORGE HERALD EDITOR
