MKMVA CALLS FOR AN END TO THE ANC SILENCE ABOUT ALLEGATIONS CONCERNING BOSASA BRIBERY AND CORRUPTION - WHICH INTER ALIA INVOLVES MR. THABANG MAKWETLA AND OTHER SENIOR MEMBERS OF THE ANC – AND DEMANDS THAT CONCERTED AND APPROPRIATE ACTION SHOULD BE TAKEN
Sunday, 23 September 2018
The Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA) is concerned, and disappointed by the, continuing and deafening, official silence by our Mother body, the African National Congress, about the Bosasa corruption scandals that keep on tumbling out of the cupboards of some senior ANC members.
The latest is the one million Rand bribe that the Deputy Minister of Correctional Services, Mr. Thabang Makwetla, by his own admission had received in cash, and kept for a whole six weeks before (according to his claims) he had done anything about it (see M&G report).
It is important to note that Mr. Makwetla saw it fit to reveal this sordid one million Rand bribe affair, only after he was fingered to have been the benefactor of a top class security system having been installed free of charge at his private residence by African Global Operations, and paid for (again in cash) by Bosasa. The Deputy Minister's protestations that he kept on asking for an invoice rings hollow. He seems to have gone through the motions of asking for the invoice as a cover, but never received one, and actually never paid a cent. One comes to the invetible conclusion that he was only too happy not to have to been presented with an invoice. If it was really his intention to pay he would have found a way. In reality there was no will, and thus no way was found either.
A number of vexing questions arise from Mr. Makwetla's very late admission, incentivised by the pressure of facing exposure, about the bribe:
1. Who paid the Deputy Minister the bribe, and what was he expected to deliver in return? Evidently there must have been discussions, and an agreement must have been reached, before he was handed the cash. Business people are not in the habit of willy-nilly handing over any money (not even to speak of a whole one million Rand!) without knowing what they buy. Obviously Mr. Makwetla was bought to do something, and he must have agreed, otherwise the money would not have been handed over to him. He was after all Deputy Minister of Defence and Military Veterans and subsequently became Deputy Minister of Correctional Services, critical departments where Bosasa has major contracts, and is always eagerly on the look-out for more work and lucrative tenders.
2. Why did the Deputy Minister take the cash bribe and kept it for a full six weeks before, apparently, according to his unverified claim, he returned the money? According to Mr.
Makwetla's spokesperson, Ntime Skhosana, this is to be seen as "an ethical stand worthy to be celebrated by upright activists and society in general". Unfortunately for him it is certainly not as simple as this rather glib response tries to spin the matter.
Where did the Deputy Minister keep this substantial amount of money? Under his mattress, while he was trying to dream up an ethical stance to forfeit the enticing bribe, and return it? One can just imagine the restless sweaty nightmares he must have suffered. Or did he not possiblh use the money to leverage more money from it? After all, as every financial advisor always admonishes us, one must put money to work for you and not, so to speak, hoard it under the mattress. In six weeks a million Rand can genrate quiet a bit of extra cash.
3. How can we even be sure that it was 'only' a R1 million bribe? After all since the bribe was paid in cash, and it is not in the nature of bribes that receipts are signed off, and paper trails are left, it could also have been more (perhaps R1, 5 or R2 million, or more, anyone's guess is as good as the other). We only have Mr. Makwetla's word for it. Which in this instance is worth nothing, because he was by his own admission involved in the criminal activity of having receiving a bribe. So we simply do not know at all if any of the money was in fact returned to the briber by the bribed; and if some money was indeed returned, whether it was the full cash amount that was handed over. Again, anyone's guess is as good as the other, and as any legal expert will tell us in serious matters such as this guessing is totally worthless.
4. Why did Mr. Makwetla, when he was overcome by his conscious and took the 'ethical stance' and, according to him and his spin docter, returned the money, then not go the full hog of his newly found moral conviction, and informed the ANC (at whose behest he after all serves as a deployee in the position of Deputy Minister) about the bribe, and especially who was bribing him? Why wait until you become vulnerable and exposed about other untoward matters, and then under the pressure of such exposure, and the evident fear that the skeleton of the R 1 million bribe will also come tumbling out of your closet, then - and only then - talk? Surely this is not a matter of with conviction 'coming out freely', it is blabbering out of fear under the duress of trying to save your own skin? 5. Why when driven by your 'newly found conscience', and your subsequent claimed return of the bride to the briber, did you not go straight to the closest police station and opened a case of corruption and bribery against the briber?
Surely Mr. Makwetla knows that as a citizen he is legally bound to report any crime that he is aware of (and in this instance was more than just aware of, but was actually a party to). The fact that he had not done so raises the reasonable question whether he returned the bribe (if we assume that he had actually done so) because of a supposed 'ethical stand' (as his spin docter claims), or whether things went aray between him and the briber, and the briber wanted the money back because he failed to deliver on his side of the deal? On the balance of probabilities this seems to be a more logical conclusion, rather than his 'moral conscience' story.
This also seems to be confirmed by the fact that up to this very day Mr. Makwetla's supposed 'ethical stance' has not compelled him to publicly reveal the identity of the briber. One cannot help to wonder what the briber has on the Deputy Minister to compel him to such determined (or is it desperate?) silence? Whatever the situation may be, his lack of having pressed charges against the briber, and keeping the identity of the briber secret (and therefore protecting a criminal), is subversion of the ends of justice and criminal in itself.
Evidently the allegations against Deputy Minster Makwetla are serious, and his very late 'confession', under pressure to pre-empt exposure, about having received a bribe, do not make matters any better, but actually worse. Mr. Makwetla should therefore with immediate effect follow the example of ANC MP, Mr. Vincent Smith, who in the face of allegations of impropriety and possible bribing by Bosasa stepped aside from chairing three parliamentary committees, and also step aside from all government duties that he is currently being deployed to by the ANC. Obviously this must also include his position as Deputy Minister.
Over and above any legal charges that Mr. Makwetla may face (or ultimately end up facing), he is also compelled to present himself to the Integrity Committee of the ANC. This is in line with the relevant Resolution that was taken by the 54th National Conference of the ANC regarding matters of this nature. Evidently as a senior member of the ANC, it is not only Mr. Makwetla's reputation and integrity that is at stake here, but also the reputation and integrity of the ANC.
In our earlier statement of a week ago (dated: Saturday, 15 September 2018) MKMVA called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to establish a judicial commission, with full investigating powers, in order to investigate the serious allegations with regards to Bosasa and African Global Operations. In support of that call MKMVA emphasized that the fight against corruption, including any undue influence - or attempted influencing - in the allocation of government tenders, must be seen to be universal and without fear or favor.
MKMVA stated that any impression that the establishment of judicial commissions to investigate these matters could be selective in order to target certain politicians, and let others off the hook, in pursuance of certain political interests and agendas must be avoided at all costs. In the same vein we are compelled to add today that our President's continuing silence, as well as the ANC's continuing official silence, about this serious matter of Deputy Minister Makwetla, and all the other serious matters of alleged Bosasa corruption related to it, is very unfortunate indeed.
It only serves to further create and strengthen the impression of selective morality, outrage, and legal action concerning allegations of fraud and corruption in order to target certain politicians in the pursuance of certain political interests and agendas. If this continues it will certainly not bode well for the future, and for the pursuance of fairness and unity in the ANC.
The detailed allegations of Bosasa bribing in order to influence government decisions, and securing tenders, should also be part of the investigations and hearings of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into State Capture. Surely it cannot be that in some instances alleged corrupt actions to influence government are considered to be 'State Capture', but in other instances they are not?
Thus, it is only fair and correct that the very serious Bosasa allegations should also be subjected to scrutiny by the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into State Capture. If the terms of reference of the Commission is so narrow that it precludes this, then MKMVA calls on President Ramaphosa, in all fairness and in pursuing full and balanced justice, to urgently amend those terms in order to make it possible.
The members of MKMVA, as the liberation fighters of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), have dedicated our lives to the full liberation of our people, and we will continue to be in the front line of fighting for justice for all our people, without fear or favour.
Anything less will be a betrayal of the Umkhonto we Sizwe Military (MK) Code, to which we all pledged our loyalty to. (In fact in the context of this statement it will be amiss of us not to remind comrade Thabang Makwetla that he too, as a member of MK, pledged his loyalty to that very Code).
Under Clause 1 of that Military Code, that deals with MK as a People's Army, the words of the MK Founding Manifesto, of the 16th of December 1961, is quoted as the foundation of our People's Army: "Umkhonto we Sizwe will be at the front line of the people's defence, It will be the fighting arm of the people against the racist government and its policies of racial oppression. It will be the striking force of the people for liberty, for rights and for their final liberation.”
The members of MKMVA will not falter in the pursuance of that sacred covenant that we made with ourselves, and with our people.
Statement issued by Carl Niehaus, MKMVA NEC Member, and National Spokesperson, 23 September 2018
