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The Head of the Housing Department of the Free State, Nthimotse Mokhesi, at the Commission of Inquiry into the Capture of the State on September 28, 2020 (Screenshot: YouTube / SABCNews)
Supreme Court Vice President Raymond Zondo is hopeful that more leaders will step up and take responsibility for their actions. Meanwhile, former President Jacob Zuma cries out of prejudice and urges Zondo to recuse himself. The focus of the investigation on Free State corruption continues this week.
The president of the State Investigation of Capture has urged the leaders to appear before him, take responsibility and admit faults. Supreme Court Vice President Raymond Zondo sighed deeply during morning proceedings on Monday, September 28, 2020.
Before the public hearings conclude in late March 2021, Zondo expects more public officials and political leaders to step up.
Deflecting the blame
“I hope to hear from some people within our country who will be able to say that a lot of things went wrong and that they will stop blaming other people,” he said.
Zondo’s comments came on the same day that it emerged that former President Jacob Zuma asked the second-in-command of the judiciary to recuse himself.
Zuma’s latest move follows a brutal statement issued by his foundation. In that, the JG Zuma foundation programmed Zondo about public comments two days before.
Zuma’s attorney, Eric Mabuza, wrote to Zondo sharing his client’s opinion that Zondo was prejudiced against him.
In less than fifteen days, the legal team will discuss why they believe Zondo should authorize a subpoena forcing Zuma to appear in November 2020.
Zondo announced at the hearing on Friday, October 9, 2020, how the subpoena would proceed with or without the presence of Zuma and his legal team. With Zuma not appearing last week, the legal team has focused on corruption in the Free State.
Sleeping at work
The head of the legal team and advocate for test leader Paul Pretorius SC started the second week in a row focusing on two irregular projects in the Free State. One was so troublesome that in February 2011, then-Minister of Human Settlements Tokyo Sexwale called a meeting in his office.
Sexwale was alarmed by the under-utilization by the Free State housing division, so he called the MEC for Human Settlements in the Free State, Mosebenzi Zwane, at his office.
By then, Zwane had allegedly devised an illegal solution to ensure that his department did not lose the allocation of some R1.3 billion for low-cost housing. Zwane denied knowing that the solution was illegal; He testified that he followed the advice of his “good-spirited” young men and understood that the plan was legal.
Pretorius said: “The question of responsibility comes to the fore again and again. Senior officials blame subordinates. The junior officers say, “We were following orders.” And ultimately, no one is, according to the evidence, responsible for what happened. “
The former Head of the Human Settlements Department (HOD) in the Free State, Mpho Mokoena, testified about the meeting during which he reported that Sexwale said: “No, I will not accept it. I hear you, but this is not correct. “
Zondo’s voice boomed as he said Monday:
“It’s like the whole department is asleep […] until Mr. Sexwale in Pretoria said, ‘WAKE UP! Can’t you see what’s happening? You are not spending money. You’re not working.’ “
In light of the evidence on the Vrede Dairy Project, a failed multi-million rand asbestos audit, and the 2010-2011 housing plan, it appears that many Free State officials were not as sleepy as they were turning a blind eye to the infringement of the law.
Two by two
Two witnesses appeared during Monday’s session. The current HOD of the Department of Human Settlements in the Free State, Nthimotse Mokhesi, spoke first.
Whereas the week before he detailed a hugely wasteful housing plan in which he said 631 million rand wasted, Monday’s session concerned a irregular asbestos project in the same province.
The former deputy director general of the Department of Local Government and Traditional Affairs of the Free State, Mmuso Tsoametsi, spoke second. He talked about the 2010-2011 housing plan.
A sorry swan song
Mokhesi insisted that his appearance before Zondo was proof that he was taking responsibility:
“I’m not pulling away completely and saying, ‘No, no, it’s not me, it’s someone else.’
He admitted: “This particular problem is happening right at the end of my career. You know, it’s not good for me. “Zondo replied,” That’s very important.
Advocate Dali Mpofu SC, of Mokhesi, reported that the Hawks recently questioned Free State housing officials.
“Our concern is simply that these questions appear to be based largely on the evidence you gave here,” said Mpofu.
Pretorius responded: “While a witness has protection in relation to self-incriminating questions, there is nothing in law or regulations, whether statutory or common law, that prevents law enforcement agencies from investigating in relation to other persons (in) the answers and that the evidence can be used against other people. “
Mokhesi commented on various evidence related to the asbestos audit, including a letter he faxed to Blackhead Consulting Pty Ltd CEO Edwin Sodi.
Thursday August 20, 2020 cute tycoon Sodi testified about the asbestos audit. He is scheduled to return to committee on Tuesday, September 29, 2020, starting at 11:30.
Inputs from Mokhesi and Tsoametsi suggest that the Free State province in the east center of the country is more like the Wild West, specifically when it comes to provincial contracts.
Conflicts of interest
Each witness answered questions about conflicts of interest in connection with dubious business deals they entered into while working for the government.
Mokhesi tried to explain why Sodi’s contribution to the Bloemfontein house that he bought for about R1.6 million was correct. At the time, Mokhesi was a high-ranking official in the Free State human settlements department.
Months earlier, Sodi and his business partner Igo Mpambani took over the asbestos project, valued at 255 million rand. Sodi’s Blackhead Consulting Pty Ltd and Mpambani’s Diamond Hill Trading 71 formed a joint venture (JV). An unknown gunman killed Mpambani in April 2017.
In April 2019, Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane found “Serious irregularities” in the project.
Playing house
Mokhesi testified that he first approached family members to join him in buying a home in Bloemfontein, as he routinely stayed in town for work. When his family couldn’t help, Mokhesi contacted Sodi because he knew the cute tycoon invested in property.
A contract between Mokhesi and Sodi included a secrecy clause, stating that the real estate investment cannot be disclosed to third parties. Pretorius wondered: why was the muzzle clause necessary?
Mokhesi said he understood that the contract was standard. He did not comment on why it was included. Zondo commented that Sodi could have invested in a variety of properties.
For Zondo, this raised a pertinent question: why did Sodi specifically invest R650,000 in the Mokhesi house months after the Mokhesi department awarded him the joint venture work to the tune of R255 million?
Sodi’s R650,000 contribution to Mokhesi’s home was hidden in a family trust and he was not registered as the owner of the property. Zondo said: “One gets the impression that he was not concerned about this R650,000.”
Zondo said the two men signed the deal about six months after the joint venture won the R255 million deal. He asked Mokhesi if, from a legal perspective, it was correct for him to come to terms with Sodi. Mpofu quickly intervened to protect its client.
“Well, maybe if we don’t look from a legal point of view, from an ethical point of view. How is that? “Said Zondo.
Mokhesi replied, “It was purely commercial.” So he didn’t see any ethical dilemma with the deal, but in hindsight “maybe” shouldn’t have entered into partnership with Sodi. Mokhesi enjoyed Sodi’s support, allowing him to buy a house for 1.6 million rand. Meanwhile, while the work that Sodi and Mpambani JV won was poorly executed.
To this day, many poor Free State residents sleep under roofs that contain dangerous asbestos fibers. His provincial government set out to remove him, paid the joint venture to do so, and failed.
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When the second witness of the day, Tsoametsi, appeared, he too was faced with questions about a business deal.
Tsoametsi landed a subcontracting job in late 2011. By then, he was working at the Free State Department of Agriculture. He saw no conflict of interest in obtaining the subcontract to build 500 low-cost houses.
After a meeting in late 2010 attended by Zwane and officials, Tsoametsi investigated a solution that involved prepayments to suppliers before construction materials were delivered. Colleagues trusted your report when authorizing the 2010-2011 housing regime.
“The opportunity presented itself that there is a contractor in the nearby city who is looking for people who can implement their project,” Tsoametsi explained about the 2011 deal.
Tsoametsi needed to “get a job” for his wife. The outsourcing opportunity arose with a real estate company owned by Free State businessman Frans Tshepo Mokoena.
Pretorius noted that in 2011 Tsoametsi brought to Mokoena his knowledge about the housing scheme, obtained through his research. Tsoametsi agreed.
The former DDG defended the subcontract to build 500 homes, as it excluded advances from the province for construction materials. Tsoametsi even advocated a more lenient approach to contracts with the families of government employees.
“The Free State economy is 60% driven by government investment, which simply means that almost everyone in the Free State depends on government resources in one way or another,” he said.
Pretorius insisted that there was a clash of interests and Tsoametsi was sitting on either side of a proverbial fence.
“On the one hand, he was dealing with a certain set of problems, and on the other hand, he was benefiting from them,” he said. Tsoametsi disagreed.
The day’s session ended as it began: Zondo highlighted self-reflection, admission, and responsibility.
“I think South Africans will be happy if they see more leaders and more senior managers and they look at themselves,” he said.
“If you deny that you fell short, you won’t see the need to find the solution.”
The investigation is scheduled to resume at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, September 29, 2020. DM
