The Democratic Alliance (DA) on Thursday called on Advocate Kholeka Gcaleka to set up a steering committee to investigate what it alleges are “growing incidences of State fund abuse” by the  African National Congress (ANC) for electioneering.

DA national spokesperson Solly Malatsi said the investigation was urgently needed as it alleged that the ANC’s election campaign was in violation of the electoral code of conduct.

In August 2020, the Office of the Public Protector set up a steering committee for an ‘own initiative investigation’ into allegations of maladministration, improper conduct and the misappropriation of public funds by the Eastern Cape Department of Health in relation to a medical scooters project.

“In just a week after DA Leader John Steenhuisen filed a complaint with the Public Protector following an unlawful instruction from Cyril Ramaphosa to senior public office bearers, reports show the public works budget has been targeted for ANC election purposes,” explained Malatsi.

He said in another case, the Department of Public Works was said to have spent R5-million to apparently launch Phase 5 of the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP).

He added that for a similar ‘launch’ in the North West scheduled for May 2, the provinces’ Department of Public Works budgeted R38.1-million, an amount which he said was now under review after it was deemed excessive by some of the officials in the province.

“These excessive launch fees are only being used for bussing people to venues, printing T-shirts and providing pre-packaged food. For a programme that has been in existence for decades, why does the ANC government see the need to spend millions ‘launching’ it,” Malatsi noted.

He said the ANC knew that it could continue with “this brazen abuse of taxpayer money” because the Public Protector investigation model was retrospective in nature.

“They have made the calculation that the Public Protector will only conclude her investigations long after the elections have ended, with no direct consequences for their illegal actions,” he said.

Malatsi said the Public Protector could not afford to ignore this “glaring abuse of State resources” for election campaigning, which he said was a direct assault on the country’s democracy.