DA requests Public Protector to urgently investigate Ace Magashule

28 March 2018

The DA will write to Public Protector, Adv. Busisiwe Mkhwebane, to request an urgent investigation into allegations that ANC Secretary-General, Ace Magashule, meddled in a housing project in the Free Sate to ensure that a company allegedly linked to his daughter secure a lucrative contract worth R150 million.

According to reports today, Magashule allegedly appointment a Chinese company, Unital Holdings, to construct more than a thousand RDP houses in Bethlehem. However, it seems as though tender procurement processes were flouted to ensure that Unital was paid nearly R70 million by the Provincial Human Settlements Department to oversee the project.

An investigation conducted by DA Councillors as well as media reports have uncovered that the houses that are in a poor condition as residents do not have access to electricity, water or proper toilets. This has forced them to make use of pit toilets and open holes exposing faecal matter. In the coming weeks, the DA will conduct a further inspection of the site in order to fully expose the inhumane conditions of residents and corruption allegedly linked to the ANC secretar-general.

The fact that Magashule would jeopardise the quality of homes and the health of our people for his own corrupt ends is not just a damning indictment on him, but the entire ANC.

This is yet another indication that the ANC government does not truly care about the plight of the millions of black South Africans who have never known the dignity of owning a home. The ‘New Dawn’ mantra by President Cyril Ramaphosa is fast proving to be a ruse as he continues in the path of his predecessor President Zuma, by surrounding himself with the likes of Magashule. With each passing day it is becoming clearer to South Africans that the ANC is incapable of self-correction as the rot is a firmly entrenched culture of the party. The only way to change this is to vote the ANC out of power.

The DA trusts that the Public Protector will investigate these allegations thoroughly and independently and ensure that those who are found guilty of misconduct are brought to book and ensure that these monies are recovered and redirected to improving the quality of homes.

Issued by Patricia Kopane, DA Free State Provincial Leader, 28 March 2018