African National Congress (ANC) veteran Mathews Phosa has warned that the party risks losing significant electoral support unless it takes decisive action against corruption and holds accountable those implicated in the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture. He predicts that without meaningful self-correction, the ANC could secure as little as 26% to 29% of the vote in the next national election.

Phosa was speaking exclusively with Polity about his latest book ‘Witness to Power’, where he highlighted that corruption was a cancer that was eating the ANC away.

He denied any corruption under his administration as ANC treasurer-general, saying the party raised billions during those days.

“In my treasury there was no corruption, it was clean, we raised the biggest money in the history of the ANC, billions. And everyone was paid every month, they got bonuses, increases every year in terms of market rates - oh we had fun. All the elections were run with cash, the centenary was during my time, unfortunately I spent R250-million, I paid in cash, we had fun, there was no corruption,” he pointed out.

He claimed that the ANC was “murdered and buried” during its Polokwane Conference in 2007, when the party elected Jacob Zuma. Phosa claimed that ex-President Thabo Mbeki became very bitter at the loss and said he later ignored the party.

Phosa said Mbeki’s removal intensified division in the party.

“…and these things continue to haunt us until today. [Julius] Malema was expelled on some flimsy reasons, I defended him in the first case, and we won but later they caught him on, really, fluff and they had a grudge against him, they expelled him, and I spoke against it,” he said.

He recalled that he told his comrades that the party should have retained Malema and disciplined him, rather than expelling him.

“Malema was pleading for his membership of the ANC, he was an honest member of the ANC, we forced him out and it harmed the youth,” Phosa believes.

He said Malema, who now led the Economic Freedom Fighters, left with the youth of the ANC.

Turning to Zuma, Phosa said the former President did not see eye to eye with President Cyril Ramaphosa.

“…he has formed the MK Party (MKP), very strong in KZN and growing in other parts of the country, phenomenal. We did not predict this, all of us, but it’s the reality today. It is the biggest opposition party in Parliament, but that is the nature of democracy, and we must learn to live with democracy, different viewpoints in our society,” he pointed out.

Phosa believes that the MKP was formed with the idea of a new ANC, stating that Zuma thinks the ANC has lost its touch.

“If you listen to the tone of his voice, he keeps saying the ANC of Ramaphosa, as if Ramaphosa owns the ANC, so the MKP is the ANC in quotes. He just says the ANC has lost course and he is just going to form a party,” Phosa said.

Meanwhile, his book also talks of the infamous Guptas, whom he claims used their New Age newspaper and ANN7 news channel to campaign viciously against him during his nomination for ANC deputy president at the ANC’s national conference in Mangaung in 2012.

“…because I had refused to be their puppet, and I am saying that in my book and I am very proud that I walked away from brown envelops”.

Watch the FULL Polity interview with Mathews Phosa here.