Those involved in State Capture will be held to account, whether in private sector or government

The following statement was delivered today by Democratic Alliance (DA) Leader, Mmusi Maimane, at a press briefing in Parliament, Cape Town. Maimane was joined by Federal Executive Chairperson, James Selfe, and DA Chief Whip, John Steenhuisen
I want to begin by welcoming yesterday’s decision by ANC Member of Parliament, Dr Makhosi Khoza, to quit the ANC. For many, it is not an easy decision to leave the party of liberation in South Africa. She must congratulated for her bravery and integrity, and we hope the many like her within the ANC come to the same realisation she did: that the ANC is dead, and beyond the point of no return. Dr Khoza summed this up yesterday, when she said:
“If we were to prosecute all known corrupt cases including those implicated in the Gupta e-mails‚ almost 80–90% of the ANC leadership at all levels of government would have to replace their shiny tailored suites and pretty dresses with orange overalls”
It’s time for a new beginning for our nation, and that new beginning lies in a post-ANC South Africa.
Corruption is an oppressive system that operates to destroy work opportunities, and operates against ordinary South Africans at the expense of a few. Whether it is a councillor who accepts a bribe for an EPWP job, or a senior executive at a large corporate firm who unduly wins government contracts – South Africans suffer because of this. Our challenge is to dismantle corruption is all its forms.
Ever since the infamous “Gupta leaks” some months ago, our nation has been knocked with daily revelations and new information pertaining to the intricate web of corruption, extortion, and undue influence exercised by the President, numerous ministers in his cabinet, and the infamous Gupta family.
The emails, and the information uncovered subsequent to that, provides a surfeit of evidence showing that our country has been captured by the President and his ANC government to make themselves and their friends rich – while ordinary South Africans suffer in the plight of unemployment and poverty. It is this state capture and corruption the ANC continues to condone and protect.
However, over the past weeks, the extent of the rot of state capture and grand corruption in our nation has become chillingly apparent. The recent revelations that private sector companies, such as KPMG and McKinsey, allegedly aided Gupta-aligned companies to profit from government contracts drove home the uncomfortable reality that our country has truly been captured in its entirety – and our young democracy is under siege.
As the Democratic Alliance (DA), we maintain that anyone implicated in any form of corruption, collusion or State Capture – in either the public and private sector – must be held accountable and face the consequences of their actions. As such, we have begun tackling this issue head on, in order to ensure those who engage in corruption are brought to book for their actions.
Private Sector
International auditing firm, KPMG, has become embroiled in the state capture saga by allegedly providing technical international tax advice to Gupta-aligned companies and by helping facilitate funds being moved from South Africa to Dubai. The firm assisted with tax avoidance advice as well as the setting up of shell companies, which assisted Gupta-owned Linkway Trading in laundering R30-million in public funds to pay for the family’s 2013 Sun City wedding.
Since these revelations, the wheels of accountability have begun to turn at KPMG, with the forced resignation of at least 7 of its top executives– including the firm’s CEO and COO. Moreover, KPMG has signalled its intention to donate the profits earned to charity, and KPMG International has launched an internal investigation into this matter.
We welcome the fact that those who carried out corrupt work for Gupta-aligned companies are being held accountable for wrongdoing. However, there is still more to do. As such, we call on KPMG to take the following steps:

  • To offer a public explanation as to the details surrounding the KPMG report into the so-called “rogue unit” at SARS, which was used to undermine the South African Revenue Service (SARS). KPMG must clarify how the end product came about, why they failed their own internal quality controls, and whether anyone from SARS interfered in the process;
  • To open its books and make public all its dealings with those involved in state capture, including all Gupta-aligned companies and any government entities;
  • To ensure every individual implicated in any underhand work done for Gupta aligned interests be removed from the firm; and
  • To make public any bonuses or severage packages handed to senior executives following their removal or forced resignation.

I will also be writing to the Governor of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB), Lesetja Kganyago, requesting that he confirm whether senior management at KPMG, or anyone else employed by them, reported any suspicious transactions to the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), as they would be obliged to do in terms of Section 29(1)(b) of the FIC Act 38 of 2001.
In addition to KPMG, international consultancy firm, McKinsey, appears to have paved the way for Gupta-linked firm Trillian to make hundreds of millions of rands from Eskom as it sub-contracted 30% of its Eskom work to the Trillian under the guise of ‘supplier development”.
Earlier this week, the DA laid criminal charges of fraud, racketeering and collusion in terms of Section 21 of the Prevention and Combatting of Corrupt Activities Act (PACCA) against McKinsey. We believe there are other avenues that ought to be pursued in addition to these charges. Therefore, I will be writing to the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) in London – where McKinsey’s Headquarters are located – requesting an investigation into the dealings in terms of the UK’s Bribery Act.
The DA will not back down in our pursuit of full accountability in these matters. As was evident in the Bell Pottinger case, those in the private sector who are caught in dodgy dealings with the powerful and the corrupt will be brought to book and face full accountability.
Public Sector
While the private sector has been responsive to these allegations and initiated accountability, when it comes to government, those at the top have thus far gotten away with corruption, collusion and aiding State Capture. In particular, cabinet ministers – including Malusi Gigaba, Lynne Brown, Des Van Rooyen, Mosebenzi Zwane and Faith Muthambi among others – face a litany of  State Capture allegations. Yet to date, not one minister has been held to account.
Section 92 of the constitution is clear: Ministers are accountable collectively and individually to Parliament for the exercise of their powers and performance of their functions. Moreover, section 237 of the constitution provides that constitutional obligations must be performed diligently and without delay.
However, this has not occured and it appears Parliament is in the process of breaching its constitutional obligations again – as the Constitutional Court found it to have done in the infamous Nkandla matter.
I had previously written to the Speaker on 29 May 2017 requesting that a draft resolution be placed on the Order Paper to establish an ad hoc committee to investigate these matters, as this would be the most appropriate way to holistically pursue accountability. This ad hoc committee was never established. Instead, on 20 June 2017, House Chairperson, Mr Frolick tasked the Portfolio Committees of Mineral Resources, Public Enterprises, Transport and Home Affairs with the responsibility of “urgently” probing the allegations of state capture insofar as they concerned those Ministers or departments.
Despite the mandate to probe “urgently”, these committees have proceeded with their work at a snail’s pace. Only the Public Enterprises Committee has appointed an evidence leader and has begun to hold hearings, however their probe is focused solely on Eskom, and excludes other players such as Transnet and Denel. The remaining three committees have achieved nothing in this regard.
Therefore, we are of the view that both the appointment of the four separate committees, instead of a single ad hoc committee, as well as the obfuscation and delays that have characterised the work of these committees constitute a deliberate attempt to undermine the responsibility of the National Assembly to hold the Executive to account. Even if not deliberate, the mere lack of urgency by the committees frustrates the National Assembly’s constitutional mandate.
It is for this reason that I have today written to Ms Baleka Mbete, the Presiding Officer of the National Assembly, requesting that our draft resolution be placed on the Order Paper to establish an ad hoc committee into State Capture by no later than 31 October 2017. The Speaker has now been put on notice and must act without delay. Given this and the seriousness and importance of these matters, we must place on record that if the Speaker does not issue the instruction concerned, we reserve our right to approach a Court for appropriate relief.
Furthermore, we request that the Speaker sees to it that a Disciplinary Committee is established – in terms of Rule 216 of the National Assembly Rules – to consider whether any of the following Ministers have acted in breach of their constitutional duties:

  • Malusi Gigaba
  • Faith Muthambi
  • Des Van Rooyen
  • Lynne Brown
  • Mosebenzi Zwane

Conclusion
We maintain that everyone involved in State Capture – ministers, companies, and any other individuals – be summoned to Parliament to be interrogated and held accountable if found guilty. We need to urgently get to the bottom of State Capture and its corrosive effect on our nation and its people.
As the official opposition, we will continue fighting corruption and State Capture with every possible instrument, because without defeating it, we cannot address our stubborn unemployment rate and we will never achieve economic freedom and equality for all South Africans. Only when we have defeated corruption, can we defeat the social ills prevalent in South Africa.
Ultimately, South Africans have the power to vote out State Capture and corruption at the ballot box in 2019, and choose a new beginning for our country.

Eskom should submit supplementary affidavits to existing DA charges against execs

The DA notes reports that Eskom is currently considering taking legal action against “at least three senior managers and two senior executives with misconduct for their alleged involvement in the [McKinsey] scandal”.
Although this is a welcome sign of accountability, there is no need for Eskom to lay fresh charges against these individuals, as the DA has already laid criminal charges against a host of Eskom executives as well as those possibly involved in dodgy dealings.
Instead of wasting police resources and opening new cases against these companies and individuals, the DA urges the power utility to submit supplementary affidavits to the following cases:

  • Anoj Singh –  Cape Town Police Station – Charges of possibly breaching the Public Finance Management Act – Case number: CAS 1685/7/2017
  • Matshela Koko – Cape Town Police Station – Treason, corruption and racketeering charges –  Case number: CAS 2067/5/2017
  • McKinsey – Cape Town Police Station – Fraud, racketeering and collusion charges – Case Number: CAS 1156/9/2017
  • Trillian Capital – Rosebank Police Station – Corruption charges – Case Number: CAS 70/11/2016

The DA also urges Eskom to submit supplementary affidavits on the alleged dodgy dealings of other Eskom executives, including Edwin Mabelane, Prish Govender and Charles Kalima.
By laying new charges, Eskom will just prolong and duplicate an investigation by the police.

Makhosi Khoza resignation proof that the ANC cannot and will not self-correct

The DA notes Makhosi Khoza’s announcement today that she has quit the ANC. Her decision to leave the ruling party is further proof, form one of its own members, that the ANC cannot self-correct.
As Dr Khoza said herself, “I will not be led by leaders who lost legitimacy and credibility. I want to say goodbye to the corrupt ANC”.
It is clear corruption has compromised the ability of the ANC to govern in the best interest of the people of South Africa.
Our young people are struggling to find jobs and our mothers are struggling to feed their children, yet the ANC continues to protect corruption and have tried to rid the organisations of moral and just leaders.
South Africa needs a new beginning and the DA is ready and waiting to bring the change that South Africans want and deserve.

NDZ's deployment will cripple Parliament

The ANC’s decision to deploy President Jacob Zuma’s preferred successor, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, to Parliament does not bode well for the effective functioning of the Legislature.
It is no secret that Zuma is seeking to re-assert his influence over the ANC caucus at Parliament after dozens of his MPs voted in support of the 8 August Motion of No Confidence in him.
Zuma seems unconcerned about the effect this move will have on Parliament where ANC infighting is already undermining parliamentary work.
The decision to send Dlamini-Zuma to Parliament also seems to precipitate yet another Cabinet reshuffle. Those members of Zuma’s Cabinet who were outspoken in the run-up to the vote, and those who belong to the rebellious SACP, are certain to be in the firing line.
Dlamini-Zuma’s elevation to MP and likely Cabinet minister seems to be a carefully orchestrated move to buttress her presidential campaign. It amounts to nothing less than state resources being used to support a candidate for the ANC presidency.
The DA sees Dlamini-Zuma for what she is – more of the same from the ANC. As a strong supporter and close family to Jacob Zuma, Dlamini-Zuma will only protect the president and his allies while deliberately ignoring the interests of South Africa and its people. Her interests only lie on protecting the corrupt and failed legacy of Jacob Zuma, the Guptas and the ANC.
We must also not forget Dlamini-Zuma’s intransigence and contempt of Parliament in her former role as Minister of Health in 1995. Amid the scandal surrounding the exorbitant cost of production of the musical, Sarafina II, Dlamini-Zuma simply refused to present herself to the Portfolio Committee on Health. Worse still, ANC members serving on the committee stubbornly closed ranks and chose party loyalty over fulfilling their oversight function. This despite the Public Protector’s damning findings a year later highlighting the mismanagement of tender procedures and unauthorised expenditure of foreign aid.
It’s all too familiar and reminds of the shambles in the Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration where a rebellion by ANC MPs targeting outspoken Chairperson, Makhosi Khoza, resulted in complete inertia. Indeed, Faith Muthambi’s abscondment from Parliamentary oversight is straight out of the NDZ playbook.
The DA does not appreciate ANC infighting impacting on the People’s business at Parliament. We cannot allow party politics to bring the Legislature to a grinding halt. Dlamini-Zuma’s deployment to parliament is not being done in good faith.

Gigaba has no choice but to fire Myeni

The DA wrote to the Commissioner of the Companies and Intellectual Properties Commission (CIPC) and received confirmation that Dudu Myeni’s continued appointment as SAA Board Chairperson and a Director is deemed to be illegal.
Finance Minister, Malusi Gigaba, therefore has no choice but to fire Myeni. We have written to Minister Gigaba to confirm what he has done to ensure that Ms Myeni no longer occupies these positions.
Point 2.3 of the CIPC Commissioner’s letter to Gigaba clearly states that ‘Ms Myeni’s continued occupation of the position of director and Chairperson of the Board of SAA is deemed to be illegal.’
This confirms our belief that Ms Myeni ceased to hold these roles at the end of August 2017 and that any decision taken by the SAA Board since then are null and void and may not be implemented.
Ms Myeni has managed SAA into bankruptcy and if there is any chance of saving the airline and the majority of the 9 398 jobs at SAA, she must be immediately removed from having anything more to do with the airline.
Every attempt must be made to save SAA but this cannot be at the cost of the massive bailouts, like we have seen in the past and are likely at the end of September 2017 when loans of R6.783 billion are due to be repaid. The airline must be put into business rescue to stabilise its operations, stop the losses and ultimately be privatised.

Years later, housing development is finally on track in DA-led Tshwane

The DA’s visit to the Refilwe Manor Extention 9, Region 5 in Tshwane today is proof that where the DA governs our people can realise their basic right to own a home.
The delivery of housing has been sped up since the DA-led multi-party government was voted into power by the people of Tshwane. The residents of Refilwe will now have a much better chance of knowing the dignity of owning a title deed and having a roof over their heads.
Upon assessing the progress of this life-changing housing development project, the DA is now more committed than ever to restore our people’s dignity.
The housing development project started in the 2013/2014 financial year but progress stalled under the ANC-run metro.
The DA-led, multi-party government has now kick started  the construction of internal water and sewer connections to 769 residential stands as well as the construction of a 10ml water reservoir to the value of R42 million; 2 sewer pump stations and upgrading the existing Water Waste Treatment Works to be completed at R22 million.
The reservoir and pump stations are expected to be completed by March 2018. Currently there is a site for an early development centre, a school, community centre and a site for business and commercial purposes.
The township development was originally approved in 2007 by the Nokeng Local Municipality as a private development. Tshwane later bought over the property, as well as the development after the merger between the City and Nokeng local municipality. However, progress stalled under the aloof ANC government.
Under the corrupt and dysfunctional leadership of the ANC in Tshwane, thousands of vulnerable citizens in Refilwe and many other communities in similar circumstances, have lost hope of ever owning a home.
This housing project may have been delayed under the previous administration but the DA is committed to working hard and ensuring that the residents of Refilwe are given a chance to own a home.
 

School principals must be declared an essential service

Please find the attached Essential Service in Education discussion document.
Strikes by teachers and other employees in the education sector have compromised our children’s constitutionally enshrined right to safety, health and even education. Learners are too often the casualties of this strike action, which sometimes becomes violent.
It is a fact that learners in South Africa have lost more days to strikes than the other 14 countries participating in the Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SACMEQ) III study.
While the DA supports the right of individuals to protest, it must not be at the expense of the safety, health and other rights of children.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has determined that it is reasonable to limit the right of certain education sector employees to strike and the DA agrees that this limitation is needed given that our children are forced to suffer as a result of strike action by educator sector employees.
According to the ILO, there are two instances in which the right to strike might be restricted. The right to strike may be restricted or prohibited:
(1)   in the public service only for public servants exercising authority in the name of the State; or
(2)   in essential services in the strict sense of the term (that is, services the interruption of which would endanger the life, personal safety or health of the whole or part of the population).
South Africa is a member state of the ILO and a signatory to the organisation’s relevant conventions in labour law. As a member, we cannot act contrary to the spirit and letter of these decisions and principles.
To this end, the DA will meet with the Essential Services Committee on 9 October to request that they conduct a study on the posts of principals being considered essential services as they are empowered by the Labour Relations Act to make this a reality.
A pertinent example of the rights of certain categories of employees can found in the health sector. Nursing staff are freely able to strike with the exception of a crucial subset – the nursing staff of Intensive Care Units (ICUs). In this instance, only a small percentage of nurse’s work in our country’s ICUs, therefore when other nurses go on strike, they do so on behalf of the essential service nurses that are desperately needed to perform life-saving nursing roles.
Therefore, the DA proposes that the following categories of education staff be declared as essential services:

  1. Principals and deputy principals;
  2. Cleaning staff; and
  3. Staff employed in the provision of food to school pupils.

South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) members often enter schools illegally and harass pupils during their protests when there are no principals present and this needs to be put to an end.
Children’s rights should be prioritised when labour negotiations and strikes take place in the education sector. However, learners are often placed in dangerous situations as well as being denied their right to education whenever they are neglected during a strike or labour negotiations.
Staff members who supply food to children and clean school premises are vital in maintaining their health and wellbeing and the limiting of the right to strike should, therefore, be extended to them as well.
It is vital that principals and support staff at schools are declared an essential service as this will result in children being protected from the adverse effects of protest action.
It is simply unacceptable for schools to be under-resourced due to protests or trade union meetings which are at times held during school hours. It is unfair on learners as they are essentially under the care and supervision of principals for their duration at school.
We can no longer accept this betrayal of learners by the very people who are tasked with providing education and support services which enable a safe and constructive learning environment – without ensuring they have bright futures. Sadtu has shown that it does not care whether its members infringe upon the rights of learners.
Our children have been robbed of the right to learn in a safe environment and the DA will do everything in its power to turn this situation around. Declaring specific categories of education employees as essential services is the first step to ensure that our children are able to realise their full potential and are able to build a better future.

Minister Masangwanyi must appoint PRASA board in 10 days

The DA will write to the Minister of Transport, Joe Masangwanyi, to demand that he appoint a full Board for the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) within 10 days and will also seek assurances that a moratorium on all new contracts be put in place until such time as the new Board is appointed.
The term of the previous PRASA Board ended on the 31st of July, almost two months ago. This essentially mean that no accounting authority has been in place, as required by the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA). While the PFMA allows for an acting CEO to act as an accounting authority, PRASA has been unable to confirm the role played by its acting CEO to approve the agreement.
Despite this, PRASA has gone ahead and approved a R57bn loan agreement with the Export and Import Bank of China to finance the Moloto Rail Development Corridor, which now may be unlawful.
The agreement is yet another example of the culture of impunity that has seeped into every corner of the state-owned entity, which has allowed state capture functionaries free reign. The rule book has been thrown out of the window to allow corrupt individuals to raid the public purse and enrich themselves at the expense of the poor.
While the Minister has evidently shown that PRASA is not on his priority list, enough is enough. He must establish a Board, within ten days, as an essential first step towards restoring transparency and accountability at the parastatal.

DA will not pursue Bell Pottinger with CPIR, but we still want full disclosure

Note to Editors: Please see the updated version of the statement below. 
The DA has decided to no longer pursue the complaint we had laid with the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR), against Kevin Read, a Bell Pottinger partner who worked on the campaign that exploited the racial tensions in South Africa on behalf of the Gupta family and Duduzane Zuma, President Jacob Zuma’s son.
The CIPR informed the DA that Mr Read did not respond to our complaint and failed to disclose any relevant information. Therefore, we did not deem it necessary to continue with the complaint as he clearly would not form part of it nor disclose the brief he received from the Gupta family and Duduzane Zuma. It would have been a barren harvest.
The DA thanks the CIPR for the professional manner in which our complaint was handled and for making every effort to contact Mr Read. It is a pity that he did not take up the opportunity to tell his side of the story.
The DA’s quest against Bell Pottinger has never been one of blind vengeance but about getting full disclosure, ensuring that the firm is held accountable and that the money is paid back to South Africa.
We still intend to pursue full disclosure and have noted the media reports that former Bell Pottinger partner, Victoria Geoghegan, intend on suing the PR firm. We trust that she will use that opportunity to tell her side of the story and provide the full disclosure that the people of South Africa need.

DA to submit PAIA application for documents on proposed R3 bn SABC bailout

Note to Editors: Please find attached a soundbite by the DA Shadow Minister of Communications, Phumzile Van Damme MP.       
The DA will today submit an application in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) to the Department of Communications, to gain access to the full application and motivation for the SABC’s request for a R3 billion bailout.
Last week, during a presentation to Parliament, National Treasury revealed that it is currently considering a R3 billion guarantee for the struggling public broadcaster.
The DA has on previous occasions requested that Minister Ayanda Dlodlo reveal the full bailout amount the SABC was requesting, to which she replied that the amount did not matter.
Now that the R3 billion amount has been revealed, it is clear that it does, in fact, matter.
This is an astonishing amount of money, which could be much better spent on more pressing matters affecting the people of South Africa.
It is for this reason that the DA is requesting a PAIA application. The South African public needs to know the exact reasons for requesting this amount, considering that the SABC Interim Board recently revealed that there has been an improvement in the SABC’s financial position.
The fact that Parliament’s Communications Committee has been bypassed is also a major cause for concern.
It is exactly this secrecy and lack of transparency that led to the SABC’s fall from grace.
Since the Minister and the SABC will not reveal the reasons for requesting this amount, the DA has no choice but to pressure them into doing so.