VBS: DA questions Mamabolo’s eligibility to serve in Lesufi’s executive

15 July 2024

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng is concerned about the eligibility of the MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs and Infrastructure Development, Jacob Mamabolo to hold office.
Recent media reports have indicated that Mamabolo has been implicated in the VBS scandal that has left hundreds of vulnerable residents without money.

VBS Mutual Bank collapsed in 2018, due to the mass looting that took place of the bank. It is highly unlikely that any of the money that has been invested with this bank by our residents will be recovered.
It is alleged in a witness statement that Mamabolo asked VBS to pay for a R3 million conference bill that the SACP owed at the Birchwood Hotel in Kempton Park in 2017.

If Premier Panyaza Lesufi is committed to ensuring that all MECs appointed to his executive are fit for purpose, he will suspend MEC Mamabolo immediately.

The portfolio’s overseen by MEC Mamabolo are critical to service delivery and we cannot have an MEC in that position that has a cloud hanging over his head regarding his dealing with VBS.

The DA will be tabling questions in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL) to determine what steps Premier Lesufi will be taking against MEC Mamabolo in light of the new allegations that have surfaced.

The DA will continue to demand that lifestyle audits be conducted on all the MECs and that these reports be made public. This will ensure that our residents receive the service delivery they deserve and that no public funds are lost to corruption.

Issued by Solly Msimanga, Official Leader of the Opposition: Gauteng, 15 July 2024