Struggle stalwart and Deputy President of the ANC Veterans League Mavuso Msimang has resigned from the party. A party member for over 60 years, Msimang said he was tired of the endless corruption that has brought great shame to what was once known as a party that held high moral ground 

Msimang said corruption was now part of the ANC's DNA. "As ANC leaders publicly proclaim ownership of obscenely wealthy homesteads and other possessions and send their children to the best schools in the land, there are still many South Africans whose children continue to be exposed to the risk of dropping into pit latrines in poorly equipped public schools and dying horrendous and humiliating deaths. There are children in rural areas who miss classes when streams and rivers are flooded because there are no bridges," said Msimang in his resignation letter. He said the business environment in the country was crippling and disabling which has led companies to downsize or simply deciding not to invest anymore, with Eskom brought to its knees by high-level corruption and sabotage. He also blamed the collapse of the railway system on corruption and mismanagement at Transnet, which he says derailed its freight haulage system. "In consequence, road transporters who have stepped into the breach sometimes have to wait in 40 km-long queues, while belching noxious gases into the atmosphere, because ports are congested," he added. The stalwart went on to say the worst may yet happen in the country with the ANC at the helm. "Ships simply avoiding our ports and discharging their cargo in better-run ports elsewhere. The litany of economic and social woes crime, unemployment, and destitution associated with my beloved African National Congress is not only embarrassing but also defies enumeration,"

He said the ANC's failure to self-discipline will have dire consequences come the 2024 general elections. "This dramatic decline in the organisation's popularity is attributable to widely held perceptions that its members and deployees are corrupt, that the organisation has a high tolerance threshold for venality and that the deployment of unsuitable people accounts for the government's deplorable levels of service to the public," he said. He also accused the ANC NEC of showing no urgency in making sure that members who are accused of criminality are removed from office. "Consequently, I have come to the realisation that my time and energies would be better spent elsewhere. Even as I painfully sever ties with my once glorious organisation, I shall continue to keep a vigil over any and all matters pertaining to governance in the country. It is not easy to leave an organisation that continues to be home to some of the most dedicated individuals I have had the good fortune, honour and privilege to call comrades. But it is time to go," he concluded.

In a media briefing hours before Msimang's resignation yesterday, the ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalule called the party's veterans to stop decampaigning the organisation. "They must work through the structures of the organisation. The leadership of the ANC including President Cyril Ramaphosa have availed themselves to the counsel and direction of our veterans and stalwarts. However, daily we find that the veterans lay charges on this organisation and attacked the ANC yet we are in a difficult period faced with difficult issues," Mbalula said.