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African National Congress (ANC) secretary general Ace Magashule could face further charges on Friday for his alleged role in the Free State multi-billion dollar asbestos audit contract scandal.
According to the spokesman for the National Tax Authority (NPA), Sipho Ngwema, the tax authority has prepared to take the case to the High Court for trial.
“When the case was adjourned last time, we indicated that there will be some changes in the prosecution. We indicated that we wanted to add more charges with respect to the last defendant, which is Mr. Magashule.
“We wanted to add more defendants in the indictment, so this is what will likely happen when the matter resumes. We are ready to proceed to trial, so we believe that we are going to move forward quickly, so the matter goes to the higher court and a trial is held as soon as possible, ”Ngwema said. Jacaranda FM.
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Magashule is currently out on bail of R200,000 and faces 21 counts of fraud and corruption related to an asbestos removal tender during his tenure as Prime Minister of the Free State.
The former Prime Minister of the Free State and his co-defendants are due to appear again in Bloemfontein Magistrates Court on Friday, February 19.
More arrests were made in the asbestos issue when the Hawks captured three top government officials in Bloemfontein on Thursday morning.
“Three senior government officials were arrested by the Hawks Serious Corruption Investigation Team earlier today in Bloemfontein in connection with the asbestos investigation facing corruption charges.
“The accusations refer to a contract that was awarded through a procurement process that was carried out in a fraudulent and corrupt manner. The contract was intended to identify and remove asbestos roofs in the Free State province.
“During that period, the department incurred unauthorized, irregular or unsuccessful and wasteful expenditures worth more than 255 million rand,” Hawks spokesman Katlego Mogale said in a statement.
READ MORE: Cholota’s testimony could prove crucial to the Magashule case: experts
Mogale added that the suspects would join Magashule and the rest of the defendants in court on Friday.
Meanwhile, the spokesman for the People’s Congress (Cope), Dennis Bloem, said the party called for the arrest of Magashule and former Minister of Mineral Resources Mosebenzi Zwane for the controversial Estina Dairy project.
Bloem said the party also asked the National Director of Public Prosecutions, Shamila Batohi, to prosecute the two.
He further said that the Vrede community and the people of the Free State would not rest until Magashule and Zwane were indicted in connection with the alleged corruption that bogged down the project.
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