The swanky yacht used by ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula to attend an ANC even on Robben Island.
Image: X
The African National Congress (ANC) says party’s secretary general Fikile Mbalula had a busy schedule around Cape Town which warranted his transportation to a recent party event on Robben Island in a luxurious yacht.
IOL reported on Sunday that the extravagant entrance took place on Wednesday ahead of the ANC's 113th anniversary celebrations in Khayelitsha, which were held on Saturday.
According to a Sunday Times report, Mbalula's yacht arrival stunned fellow ANC leaders and observers alike during an event that was meant to reflect on the painful history of the party's members who had been incarcerated during the apartheid era.
Other ANC leaders used the Robben Island Museum ferry, Sikhululekile while President Cyril Ramaphosa was flown to the island by helicopter for security reasons. The solemn commemoration was aimed at honouring political prisoners who spent years on the infamous island.
On Sunday evening, member of the ANC’s national executive committee Donald Selamolela told broadcaster Newzroom Afrika that Mbalula is not involved in the logistics of his mode of transport.
“Do not put it on Mr Mbalula as a person. Mr Mbalula does not arrange his own movement when he is running the programme of the African National Congress. Put it on us as the ANC. Why did we make that separate arrangement for Mr Mbalula. The reason is, Mr Mbalula on the same day he was expected to address other various programmes,” said Selamolela.
“You didn’t want him to be on a ferry that would take time. It is true that it is expensive to use that type of a ferry that he use, but I must clarify that the respect that we have for our people, the commitment in terms of ensuring that our programme of reconnecting with our people …What you saw (on Saturday) is a culmination of various activities that we have been running here.”
Selamolela said he is not sure how much the ANC paid to procure the yacht for Mbalula’s use. However, the ANC NEC member insisted that Mbalula had nothing to do with yacht.
“Let us not play the man, Mr Mbalula did not run this trip on his own. It was an ANC trip and he was carrying an ANC mandate. He was expected to fulfil the ANC programme,” he said.
The yacht used by ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula to attend an ANC even on Robben Island.
Image: X
The yacht in question reportedly belongs to Fernando Acafrao, a businessman who has secured multiple multimillion-rand government contracts.
His company, Mobile Satellite Technologies, is known for providing mobile clinics to provincial governments.
The company has faced scrutiny in the past; in 2015, it was reported that two companies, including Mobile Satellite Technologies, were supposed to deliver four mobile health units to the KwaZulu-Natal health department but only succeeded in providing two, costing the province R61 million by August 2016.
IOL
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