GAUTENG MEC for human settlements Humphrey Mmemezi, who reportedly stole public money and used it for his personal benefit, still has his jobs - thanks to the ANC's courteous attitude towards the corrupt.

Mmemezi used a taxpayers' funded credit card to buy, among other things, expensive clothes and food at MacDonalds.

Gauteng Premier Nomvula Mokonyane said she had demanded answers from Mmemezi. It's not clear whether she got them.

ANC provincial secretary David Makhura said the party viewed the allegations in a serious light and had set up a five-member committee to allow Mmemezi to defend himself.

Mmemezi is not the only ANC leader in government who has misused public funds and continues with his life as though nothing were wrong.

The ANC in Eastern Cape once kept Buffalo City mayor Zukisa Faku in office despite reports she had used taxpayers' funded credit card to buy personal items, including a meal at KFC.

The attitude seems to be that voters are at the mercy of the ruling party, not the other way round.

The government needs to get rid of people who use hard-earned public money as if it is theirs.

With widening inequalities between rich and poor, and poor service delivery, the last thing the government would want to convey is that corruption pays.

Those with a cloud of corruption hanging over their heads should quit - and it should all start from the top.