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Former ANC Secretary General Gwede Mantashe, Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, told the Zondo Commission on Friday night that it never occurred to him that the installation of high-end security cameras at three of his properties, allegedly paid for by Bosasa could be seen as a possible setback, because “he was not willing to take bribes.”
Mantashe was responding to questions from test leader Viwe Notshe (SC) about acceptance of the facility from then-Bosasa director Papa Leshabane.
Mantashe said Leshabane had told former ANC security chief Mzonke Nyakaza that he could provide “superior” security cameras that Nyakaza had already purchased from a retailer for Mantashe’s home in Boksburg in 2013. Mantashe said additional security it was necessary since the house had been raided on more than one occasion. Mantashe was secretary general of the ANC at the time.
“Those cameras helped us stop the danger twice in Boksburg,” he said.
Mantashe said Bosasa had also installed security equipment on his Eastern Cape properties, including his farm, three years later, “after seeing the success of the cameras in Boksburg.”
It was Nyakaza and Leshabane who had taken care of the security facilities at the houses in the Eastern Cape, he said, and that Nyakaza had already clarified that Leshabane had offered to pay for the equipment.
“I was kept out of the security details, and the security advisor [took care of that]. Papa Leshabane reportedly made arrangements with the security team for the Eastern Cape. [properties]. Mzonke Nyakaza was dealing with the security details, without getting me involved. “
Mantashe described Leshabane as a friend of the family, someone who walked in and out of their home. He did not see him as a representative of Bosasa, he said.
When asked if he knew Bosasa CEO Gavin Watson, who died in August 2019, Mantashe said:
“I knew who Gavin Watson was because we crossed [paths] in my life as a trade unionist, when I wanted contracts with mines. At the time, he was bribing shop stewards to work in shelters. And I said ‘no, we’re not going to have any of that.’
Shortly after this, Notshe asked him if he was not concerned that, because Leshabane worked for Watson, Letshabane’s offer to install the security cameras, without requesting payment, could also be considered a bribe.
“I am not willing to take bribes. I was known for that [in my days as a trade unionist] and now I’m known for it, ”Mantashe said.
Notshe suggested that since Mantashe, on his own account, was unwilling to take bribes, he would also know that he should not accept gifts.
Mantashe, trying to answer this, replied in a characteristically curt manner:
“If you execute a project, and in a collective situation, from a family agreement, people can make a contribution, it happens from time to time [accepting of a gift]. For example, if a boy goes to the initiation, I give him a cow. That is not a bribe. This is how we relate to each other in a social arrangement at the family level. “
To which Notshe replied:
“And even now, if someone gives you a gift and you know that person’s background, would you decline those gifts?”
“If they offer me a gift now, I would declare it, because I am a minister.”
“And you would reject the present if you knew the background of the donor, right?” Nalane pressed.
“Yes,” Mantashe said.
Watson, Bosasa and several of the company’s executives have been implicated, through the testimony of former executive Angelo Agrizzi, in large-scale looting that allegedly involved bribing ministers and high-ranking officials for lucrative contracts in the Department of Correctional Services .
Later, Bosasa employee Richard le Roux confirmed some of Agrizzi’s allegations during his testimony at the commission. Le Roux said he personally supervised the installation of cameras in the houses of ministers and officials, and that Leshabane had ordered him to do the work.
Le Roux and Agrizzi estimated that the security equipment was worth between R300,000 and R600,000.
Mantashe received permission in 2019 from Judge Zondo to question Agrizzi and Le Roux. DM
