The elective conference of the ruling ANC in South Africa has taken a major decision to root out corruption within its ranks and government by establishing an Integrity Committee.
The Committee will bring to book those leaders and members involved in corruption and who besmirch the image of the 100-year-old party. This was one of several top policy decisions announced when the conference ended on Thursday evening.
The more than 4 500 delegates who attended the 53rd elective conference in Manguang were not only involved in electing President Jacob Zuma and other leaders into office, but had also participated in serious discussions about socio-economic transformation of the country.
Among other things, they adopted the National Development Plan of Planning Minister, Trevor Manuel, as a long-term vision for the economic development of the country. They - however - dismissed wholescale nationalisation of mines and instead decided to impose greater tax on mining companies and also to establish a state bank.
But one of the major decisions to come out of the conference is the establishment of an Integrity Committee to monitor and bring to book those leaders and members who are using their positions to enrich themselves through corruption. Even those who hold the highest offices, including President Jacob Zuma, will be monitored by the Integrity Committee.
It's estimated that more than 30-billion rand or three-and-half billion US Dollars are wasted and squandered every year by government officials and other ANC members who become caught up in corruption.
David Makhura, a senior member of the ANC who was involved in promoting the adoption of the Integrity Committee, said in an interview it would consist of veteran leaders of the ANC and would come into operation within three months.
"This committee," he said, "which we call the Integrity Committee to ensure that all ANC leaders and public representatives live up to the expectation of ethical leadership".
"The issue is to throw hammer blows until we have tackled this problem of conduct (corruption) that harms the image of the party."
Makhura said they would only deploy into office and public life those members who were well-equipped, professional and possessed outstanding moral qualities.
Some delegates I spoke to fully supported the establishment of the Integrity Committee because they would like to be represented by leaders who are corrupt-free.
Said one delegate from KwaZulu-Natal: "This particular of an Integrity Committee shows to the whole world that we take issue with corruption and that we don't currupt people to lead Government or even the ANC itself."
A woman delegate from Mpumulanga said: "The ANC is joined by members and has members who are human beings and if then there is an element of corruption, the ANC needs to dig deep into that to get rid of that corruption. I am confident that the Integrity Commission will do its work to clean up the ANC."
But not all people believe that the new Integrity Committee will be able to root out corruption perpetrated by ANC members.
Political analyst, Lesiba Tefo, said the ANC had many documents that listed out the code of conduct but the organisation had failed to bring corrupt leaders to book.
He was not optimistic that the Integrity Committee would be effective:
"I would say no. Yes indeed it's a good idea but what it needs is political will and objective and consistent application of the rules."
Professor Tinuleko Malulekho of the University of South Africa was another analyst who had been monitoring the conference for the past week at Manguang.
He said that South Africans were tired of new terms such as Integrity Committee, Second Phase, and Continuity.
"These things are not edible. You know people would want something being done and not bombarded with new notions and new committees. "
Whether the ANC Integrity Committee would really tackle corrupt leaders, councillors and members would be of worth watching. The Government had introduced a number of measures to tackle corruption in Government and at one time relied on the Scorpions. But sadly this police unit was abolished after Zuma was charged with corruption. The corruption were withdrawn just before Zuma assumed the presidency after the last elections in 2009.
Another major talking point at the conference has been the future of Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe - who lost out to President Jacob Zuma for the top position. While some people have predicted that he would step down as deputy president of the country - ANC leaders have stated that there was no plan to push him out of office. He would be allowed to stay in office until 2014 when the next general elections take place.
President Zuma announced in his closing speech that Motlanthe would head the ANC's Political Education Programme in order to educate new members of the history and policies of the ANC.
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