Mantashe: ANC paying the price
ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe says the ruling party is paying the price for scandals involving its top brass.
The ruling party has been rocked by controversy in recent months following the #GuptaLeaks.
The series of leaked emails reveal the extent of the family's influence on government and state-owned enterprises.
He demanded those implicated, own up.
"Where we must own up, individual comrades should do so by providing reputable explanations as a few have done. Blatant denial lacks credibility in the eyes of society."
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Having tabled the diagnostic report on the state of the organisation on Day 1 of the ANC National Policy Conference, Mantashe told journalists, voters do not separate the member from the party.
"The issues that influence the voters, you read them and you ask whether the voter was actually concerned about the event or the person. I don't know how they can be separated. Voters see it as one. If I'm involved, I'm involved and voters react.
"That is why at the end of the day, the ANC pays the price. Voters begin to see leaders of the ANC involved in some of these activities and therefore the ANC gets punished."