RW Johnson: The Mashatile problem – Scandal surrounds ANC’s deputy President
In the precarious leadership of the ANC's new Deputy President, Paul Mashatile, a troubling narrative unfolds. From his provincial roots in Gauteng to his recent national prominence, questions arise about his luxurious lifestyle funded by business interests linked to government contracts. Dubious deals, including loans to family-run companies, cast a shadow on his integrity. Moreover, as the Gauteng ANC faces impending electoral losses and urban decay, Mashatile's lack of a national Struggle history and potential media revelations may make him the ANC's least popular leader yet.
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The Mashatile Problem
By  RW JohnsonÂ
The ANC seems to be sleep-walking into trouble in the person of its new Deputy President, Paul Mashatile. A glance at Mashatile's biography shows that he is a Gauteng boy through and through – a member of the "Alex mafia" no less. His Is a fairly standard activist story: UDF from a young age, a member of COSAS, detained for a while, an interrupted education, an organiser for both the ANC and SACP and by April 1994 both a member of the Gauteng provincial legislature and Secretary of the Gauteng ANC. Since 1994 he has occupied many different roles within the Gauteng ANC.Â
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