I am in possession of a generic fundraising letter, written on an ANC letterhead and addressed to various ‘stake holders', which invites them to attend an event hosted by the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Ms Tina Joemat-Pettersson, accompanied by civil servants ("Directors of Marine Coastal Management" (MCM)) in Port Elizabeth today, at which new fishing quota information will be made available. In order to attend, any stakeholder is required to pay R2 000 into the ANC's election coffers.

The letter is no doubt an initiative from the ANC's fundraising arm, the Progressive Business Forum, which sells time with members of the ANC executive, to talk about their work in government. That practice is, in and of itself, ethically dubious and conflates party and state in an entirely inappropriate way, but the letter, if authentic, provides conclusive proof that this conflation has now become absolute: public servants cannot be used to raise money for the ruling party. To do so is to violate the Code of Conduct for Public Servants and to use state employees (people employed with public money, to serve the public's best interest dispassionately and objectively) to promote the interests of a political party, with a particular constituency.

In short, and if accurate, the letter constitutes further hard evidence of how the ANC is setting about creating a magstaad: a closed, crony society that benefits only a few and where one's access to power determines one's prospects of success.

I will today be writing to the Chairperson of the Public Service Commission (PSC), to lay a complaint against the Directors of Marine and Costal Management, and to ask for a full investigation.

The PSC Code of Conduct, Section 2 (Relationship with the Public), states:

An employee:

Will serve the public in an unbiased and impartial manner in order to create confidence in the Public Service;
Does not unfairly discriminate against any member of the public on account of race, gender, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, political persuasion, conscience, belief, culture, or language;
Does not abuse his or her position in the Public Service to promote or prejudice the interests of any political party or interest group;
Recognises the public's right of access to information, excluding information that is specifically protected by law.

If the letter is authentic, this provision has been breached by the civil servants in question and there must now be consequences.

I will also be submitting a question to the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, to ask what her response is to this matter. If she is complicit, there must be consequences for her too.

Today's event is of particular concern given the sensitive nature of marine management and past controversy about the allocation of fishing quotas. It perpetuates the perspective that the ruling party has little interest in either the environmental implications of distributing quotas on inappropriate grounds or in the plight of impoverished fishing communities which have been virtually wiped out by the ANC's reckless management of the national fishing industry.

In a country governed by a party which displays an increasing disdain for ethical conduct and the rule of law, such brazen abuses of state power must be addressed swiftly and decisively if the rapid loss of faith in the public service is to be abated.

A copy of the letter follows below. A copy of the original is available on request.



African National Congress

3rd Floor, Standard House
344 Govan Mbeki Avenue
Port Elizabeth, 6001

Tel: (041) 585-9618
(041) 585-0325
Fax: (041) 585-9616


PO Box 23120
Port Elizabeth
6000

Nelson Mandela Region
21 June 2010
Dear Stake Holder

The Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ms. Tina Joemat-Pettersson will be in Port Elizabeth on the 01st of July 2010 she will be accompanied by the directors of MCM. She has requested the ANC office to facilitate a session with the fishing stakeholders on this day.

A contribution of R2000 per person is requested to give you an opportunity to attend this information sharing session and also to find out more about the coming fishing quota reviews.

Kindly deposit your contribution to the following banking details and fax your bank slip to the above number.

FNB, Govan Mbeki
ANC Election Account
Acc. Number: 622 1388 7336

Please RSVP with Pam Johnson @ 082 511 3480 not later than Monday 28th June 2010.

Hoping that you will find the above in order.

Thanking you in advance

Yours truly

(Signed by Nceba Faku, Regional Chairperson)