DA lays criminal charges against Ace Magashule

9 April 2018

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has today laid criminal charges against ANC Secretary General and former Free State Premier, Ace Magashule, following allegations that he meddled in a housing project in the Free State to ensure that a company allegedly linked to his daughter secured a lucrative contract worth R150 million.

The criminal charges were filed, in terms of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act, Act 12 of 2004, following an oversight visit by the DA to the Vogelfontein RDP Housing Development in Bethlehem where it is alleged that Magashule flouted tender procurement processes to ensure that a Chinese company, Unital Holdings, allegedly linked to his daughter, was paid R70 million by the Provincial Human Settlements Department to oversee the project.

Together with DA Shadow Minister of Human Settlements, Solly Malatsi MP, DA Shadow Deputy Minister of Human Settlements, Mbulelo Bara MP, DA Leader of the Official Opposition in the Free State Provincial Legislature, Dr Roy Jankielsohn MPL, DA Free State Provincial Spokesperson on Human Settlements, Leona Kleynhans MPL and local DA Councillors who gathered initial information about the development, we uncovered poorly constructed houses that do not have electricity, water and proper toilets. This has led many residents to make use of pit toilets and open holes, exposing fecal matter.

These allegations must be fully investigated and if they prove true, Magashule must be held accountable in terms of the Act, which expressly prohibits the use of improper influence to secure a contract for a public body or private organization.

Poor residents in Vogelfontein have been left to live in sub-standard housing while Magashule enjoys political protection from the ANC, which rewarded him with a post as Secretary General.

The ANC has proven, time and again, that it is incapable of holding corrupt cadres within its ranks to account, and as such, law enforcement agencies are obligated to ensure that victims of corruption get justice from the ‘congress of the corrupt’.

The DA looks forward to a timely conclusion of the investigation into Ace Magashule and his accomplices in the Vogelfontein RDP Housing Development, who have robbed residents of their right to decent accommodation.

Issued by Patricia Kopane, DA Free State Provincial Leader, 9 April 2018