“THERE IS NOTHING UNLAWFUL OR CORRUPT ABOUT MY ACQUISITION OF THE PROPERTY IN SANDTHURST”
Statement by Lucky Montana on the latest attack by News24
On Tuesday, 30th January 2018 I appeared before Parliament’s Inquiry into Corporate Governance at Eskom. I had intended my testimony to be, first and foremost, factual and should meet the highest standards of integrity, honesty and absolutely truthful. My appearance at the Parliamentary Inquiry was triggered by the false statements made by Dikobe Ben Martins, ANC Member of Parliament and former Minister of Transport. But my primary objective was not to reply to Dikobe Ben Martins but to assist the Inquiry and the Parliament of the People of South Africa to get to the bottom of the challenges and problems we are facing collectively as a people and the country. I wanted to share my “little knowledge” on SOEs and make a humble contribution to the work of Parliament in shaping a New Strategic Path for State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) and Public Entities.
I have been involved in the restructuring of State-Owned Enterprises as a senior official in the Department of Public Enterprises, as Deputy Director-General in the Department of Transport and as CEO of the South African Rail Commuter Corporation (SARCC), which we transformed to establish PRASA in 2009. Further, we actively supported the work of the Commission on SOEs that was lead by Ms Riah Phiyega, before she became National Commissioner of Police. PRASA funded part of the work of this vitally important Commission for the country.
I am satisfied that my testimony has achieved what I had set out to do in Parliament. I am on record at having said that if anyone out there has a different version or facts, let them approach Parliament and ask for the opportunity to present their testimony. I am absolutely certain that the facts in my testimony will stand the test of time.
Unfortunately, and as expected, my testimony did not please everyone. Firstly, the politicians mentioned in my testimony were extremely upset. They are angry and had resolved that they will deal with me. I have been reliably informed that hitmen (“Inkabi”) from Msinga in KwaZulu-Natal, had been organised and paid with the sole purpose to eliminate me. I will never change my testimony even at the risk of death.
I have also been reliably informed that senior leaders in the ANC are upset with the manner I dealt with party finances and accounts at the Inquiry. They would have preferred that such matters are dealt with internally. I reiterate my call to the ANC to appoint an independent inquiry to determine if the “financial contributions” made in the name of the party were indeed paid into ANC accounts or accounts of individuals or entities that have nothing to do with the ANC. If the ANC is serious about fighting corruption, this should start at the highest level.
I am further informed that some leaders of the ANC are also unhappy and state that I used the Parliamentary Inquiry to advance certain political positions. More specifically, they are unhappy with my submission that the crimes associated with the so-called State Capture are not limited to the Gupta family and their associates. The Gupta family and their associates are bad but local and international sector companies, individuals in BEE companies with political connections and some of our political leaders, are worse than the Guptas.
I am confident that the work of the Commission on State Capture will unearth evidence that would infact indicate that many of our leaders are direct players in matters they today call State Capture, which in truth, has nothing to do with the fight against corruption but is a proxy to fight battles and gain political power.
I am accused of being “too independent” and “cannot be trusted”. I am reminded that “it is cold outside” and that I will never ever be granted an opportunity to serve our beloved country. I do not think there is any appreciation of the major changes in the social and economic structure of our society, especially within the black community. The notion of “its cold outside” will no longer work and the sooner our leaders understand this, the better for our country. I remain resolute and will not be intimidated. I am not a veteran or senior leader of the ANC. I only came into contact with the ANC Underground as a young student activist in 1987 during the political turbulence of the 1980s. I have served the party with absolute loyalty over the years and remain a disciplined member.
But I had made two fundamental errors on the PRASA matter. The first was when I submitted my letter of resignation to the Board on 15 March 2015. I should have left immediately because the knives were clearly out for me. Because of my concern with the possible collapse of the modernization program that PRASA had embarked upon during my tenure as Group CEO, I offered to serve a six (6) months’ notice period instead of the three (3) months provided for in my employment contract. I wanted to ensure we manage the transition and there is a proper handover to the new Board and New CEO. This never happened and PRASA has collapsed as a direct result of the shenanigans that occurred after I left the public entity. There was no more focus on the operations of the business but on investigations to catch Lucky Montana at all cost. This investigation has cost over R200 million without any real return on this investment.
Popo Molefe and his new Board stabbed me at the back when they decided on 15 July 2015, in my absence, that I should no longer serve the notice period we agreed upon and that I should be released with immediate effect. I had planned a media briefing to give my side of the story to these developments. Ten (10) minutes before the start of the media briefing, I got calls from two of Ministers and a Deputy Minister asking me not to proceed with the media briefing. I respected the directive from the ANC and Government leadership and abandoned the media briefing. The leadership promised that they will meet and resolve the crisis at PRASA. Unfortunately, they failed to deal with the matter. I should have insisted on putting out the facts and my version back in July 2015. Today, I would not be subjected to this court of public opinion and therefore do not see the latest attack by News24 in isolation.
This has been in the making for the past two months. We know that News24, whilst in essence a reactionary mouthpiece of the white minority and dominant classes in our society, has also been used by ANC leaders to attack others leaders. The ANC is “leaking like a sieve” and News24, together with City Press, ENCA, Radio 702, Daily Maverick, etc, receive leaks on a daily basis about the internal politics of the ANC. This has nothing to do with the so-called “investigative journalism” they claim. The latest attack is more political than anything and is aimed at tarnishing my image with the new leadership of the ANC.
Why is News24 specifically angry with me? Since my testimony, they have desperately been searching and hoping to find “something against Lucky Montana” that will erase my testimony in Parliament. The testimony has clearly “wounded” the egos of both Adriaan Basson and Pieter-Louis Myburg. Their agenda to bring down another black leader or executive was suddenly in tatters. They had to find something. They could not find anything and have resorted to recycling old story as a new story.
My testimony to Parliament has exposed the BIG LIES THAT News24 has been publishing about PRASA SINCE 2015. The biggest lie being the story about PRASA procuring Afro4000 locomotives from Spain that are “too tall for the network” and “do not meet the railway standards in South Africa”. The communication system and manuals on the “tall trains”, News24 claimed, are only in Spanish and not available in English and cannot be used by PRASA employees.
To cap it all, Adriaan Basson persuaded his peers in the media industry that his protégé, Pieter-Louis Myburg, deserves an award for his “groundbreaking investigation” on the “tall” and “unsuitable” locomotives. Basson claimed that Montana “will not survive” the onslaught from Pieter-Louis Myburg. Since my testimony in Parliament, mention of “tall trains” has since disappeared in the media. The protégé had failed to explain and provide the railway standard he used to make the false claim about “tall trains” and mislead the nation.
News24 published another story claiming that PRASA had procured “toilet seats for R42 million per unit”. This is obscene. My testimony proved that the story about “toilet seats” was not only false but manufactured by News24. There are no toilets in the locomotives to start with.
There are other stories that News24, City Press, Beeld, and Rapport had published which I dealt with in my testimony. I do not intend to cover these in this short statement but the facts are there for everyone to read in my testimony to Parliament.
If you read the article on News24 today titled “REVEALED”, you would believe that this a “new discovery” by News24. The stories about “Montana’s houses” and the allegations on how these were funded by different contractors has been there since 2015.
In April 2015, my office agreed to a request for an interview from one Pieter-Louis Myburg from the Afrikaans Sunday newspaper, Rapport. He wanted to interview me about different properties I had bought over the years. I agreed to the interview, which was conducted in the presence of the PRASA spokesperson, Moffat Mofokeng. I had brought to the office relevant files for Myburg to peruse. He was clearly not interested in the facts and evidence.
At that time, Pieter-Louis Myburg was chasing a story that Alstom, the French company, had bought a house for me in Parkwood as a bribe to be awarded the rolling stock tender. This proved to be false. I presented Pieter-Louis Myburg with copies of the bond documents to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the property was acquired by me in 2008 through a bond from ABSA and this was four (4) years before PRASA had embarked on its rolling stock tender.
Pieter-Louis Myburg abandoned the story and started asking me about the structure of the rolling stock tender. He proceeded to write a story in Rapport making false allegations of the involvement of “Zuma cronies” in the PRASA rolling stock programme. It is in the “DNA” of News24 to manufacture stories and tell lies.
I dealt with all the properties I own on 8 February 2016 in response to an affidavit deposed to by Popo Molefe in a matter between PRASA and Siyangena Technologies. I had briefed the media about each and every property I owned since 1998 and provided details on how each of the properties was acquired. I explained how I used the properties acquired through my ABSA Private One (bond) Facility to further invest in other properties and create wealth. There is nothing unlawful about this common business practice. This includes the acquisition of the property in Sandhurst that News24 reported about this morning, which is identified in my statement as the “9th property purchased in 2015 in Hurlingham/Sandthurst”.
I also explained in detail my relationship with Riaan Van der Walt during the media briefing where I indicated that “in respect of Riaan Van der Walt and Precise Trade, I confirm that I partnered with him and third parties to explore property investment as well as development opportunities such as guest houses, student accommodation, mixed residential development, etc”. In my statement, I specifically states that News 24 and its sister companies “seem to believe that I should not, like all South Africans, enjoy the right to buy and sell property, an inalienable right enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic”. Pieter-Louis Myburg did not attend the media briefing but his colleagues from News24, Beeld and Rapport attended the briefing.
In pursuing its story, Pieter-Louis Mybyrg and News24 contradict themselves and are forced to make a major “concession” by their own standards. They acknowledge that the first R2 million invested to secure the Sandthurst property came from the proceeds of the sale of my own property in Parkwood, which property was acquired through a bond from ABSA. After bond cancellation, the proceeds of the sale belonged to no one else but Lucky Montana. It was my decision to invest the proceeds into the Sandthurst property and to find an investor or partner for the planned property development. This partner is Mitdtownbrace.
There is nothing corrupt or unlawful about this. This should settle the matter but of course this will not support the narrative or the “imaginary link” that News24 has been desperately trying to “create” for the past three (3) years between my properties and contractors.
Fortunately for me, I do not owe Adriaan Basson, Louis Myburg or News24 any explanation regarding my lawful property dealings. I refuse to answer any of their questions and told them I was not interested in anything they publish now or in the future and that I do not regard Pieter-Louis Myburg as a legitimate journalist.
Finally, I wish to focus on the three biggest lies that News24 has made in the latest attack on my reputation.
Firstly, News24 claim that I did not disclose all of my property dealings to Parliament. This is false. In page 48 of my testimony to Parliament, I provide a summary of my property dealings and specifically state “this was a relationship of two people who had invested in properties they owned to make money and pursue legitimate business” and that “this is absolutely lawful”. I answered questions during the testimony about my houses and the relationship I had with Riaan van der Walt. In addition, I did provide Parliament with my full statement of 8 February 2018 where I repudiated the allegations by Popo Molefe that these properties were bought on my behalf by Siyangena Technologies.
Secondly, News24 would like to create an impression that Riaan van der Walt and Andre Wagner had any business to do with PRASA. These are business people who have never done business with PRASA. There is no conflict of interest that I needed to declare.
Thirdly, News24 goes on about the sale of shares between Riaan van der Walt and Andre Wagner. I am not a Director of any of the companies mentioned in the sale of shares. There is no evidence provided on how this forms part of a corrupt scheme concocted by me to enrich myself. There is a lot of insinuation or innuendo that seeks to subject myself to a court of public opinion. Unfortunately, I will not give in to this.
News24 should try again. They should go back and search for something meaningful to destroy Lucky Montana. For now, they have thrown their last remaining “spear” and have once again missed.
I shall never be conquered!
Ke Mokone wa ntshi dikgolo. Bakone ba baila tlhantlhagane, Bana ba thaba ya magosi, Bakone baila nonyane e podudu, Matlala sekgoba dinaga
Tsabo makgolo’a’gwe Mokone!
Mina ndzi ntukulu wa Molaleni, Ramaisela, Nwa’Mkhabela Halala Mhunti ya Mona
Halala Marindza nhlanga va ku i mavele halala Hulela!
Issued by Lucky Montana, 30 April 2018
