Fomer Justice Minister Thembi Simelane. (Photo by Brenton Geach/Gallo Images via Getty Images)
With pressure mounting for Cyril Ramaphosa to act against Justice Minister Thembi Simelane, his office has said the president should be allowed time to apply his mind — and possibly consult structures in his party.
The decision was not merely a disciplinary one, presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said, but involved potential consequences for the composition of the cabinet.
“It is not a question of him waiting to be assisted with the decision,” Magwenya said. “In the process of applying his mind, the president is not looking at a single issue alone.”
He noted that Ramaphosa has had a charged schedule since receiving a requested report from Simelane on the issue more than a fortnight ago. The president’s schedule included addressing the 79th session of the United Nations’ General Assembly.
“People are only looking at one element: does he take disciplinary steps or not? Meanwhile, he has to think of factors much broader than that narrow scope. It took a lot of painstaking work to formulate the national executive to achieve the balance that was achieved,” he added, referring to the composition of the executive of the coalition government.
It meant, Magwenya said, that Ramaphosa had to consider not only how to respond to pressure to sanction a minister who took a loan from a middleman implicated in the VBS Mutual Bank scandal, but to the consequences this implied for his coalition cabinet.
“The president is well au fait of his constitutional obligations and powers, there is no doubt about that. He may want to, but I am not saying he is going to, but he may want to consult his party over this matter, particularly the leadership of the party. And there is no deadline for him to conclude this matter. He needs to apply his mind properly.”
Senior sources in the ANC have suggested that Ramaphosa was squandering the moral high ground by consulting party structures while ministers served at his pleasure.
“She is a member of cabinet. He has the power, independently of anybody in the ANC, even in terms of realpolitik, especially in times like these, to appoint and dismiss members,” one told the Mail & Guardian.
In the meanwhile, there have been news reports to the effect that the loan agreement was postdated.
Simelane earlier this month told parliament’s portfolio committee on justice that she had repaid the loan she took to buy a coffee shop in Sandton at an interest rate approaching 50% because she was unable to secure better terms from a bank or another financial services provider.
She also said that she repaid the loan from her family’s business account to Gundo Wealth Solutions’ Nedbank account in three instalments from October 2020 to January 2021. Gundo is owned by Ralliom Razwinane.
She did not supply proof of payment to the committee but said she had done so in her report to Ramaphosa. The media reports suggested that the loan contract with Razwinane was post-dated to reflect repayment terms.
The implication of these reports are that Razwinane bought Simelane the coffee shop as an inducement or gratification for ensuring, while she mayor of Polokwane, that the Limpopo local government made large deposits into the mutual bank, in violation of public financement management rules.
On Monday, Democratic Alliance MP Glynnis Breytenbach, the party’s spokesperson on justice, reiterated a call for Simelane to step aside from her position.
“Despite whether Simelane has repaid the loan from Gundo Wealth Solutions or not, the fact remains that the money involved is tainted,” she said.
“The loan’s apparent exorbitant interest rate raises serious concerns, as it is highly questionable why the minister chose to engage with an entity not registered as a financial service provider, Gundo Wealth Solutions, who in turn received the money from VBS bank.”
Breytenbach said it was clear that Simelane found herself facing “an untenable conflict of interest”.
“The pattern of coincidences — ranging from the questionable loan to the illicit investments demands scrutiny. The apparent connections between these events should set off alarm bells for any investigator or prosecutor,” she said.
“Minister Simelane’s continued presence in the role sows distrust among the public and compromises the integrity of the justice department. She must step aside to allow for a thorough and unbiased investigation into these matters.”
In the meanwhile the Economic Freedom Fighters and Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe party have sought to link the controversy to the manifest difficulty the National Prosecuting Authority has in prosecuting state capture cases.
Mgaweyna said this wrangle predated Simelane’s appointment, and the department continued to operate while the president considered the VBS matter.
“The department is functioning. It is a reputational issue concerning the minister and it has no impact on the operations of the department or its related entities,” he said.
“So putting the matter into context, one has to appreciate that it is more than disciplinary action or not. It is about thinking through the ramifications of either decision that he takes and how those ramifications are managed and there is nothing wrong in him seeking to consult the leadership of his party, even though he is not obliged to.”
Simelane faced the integrity commision of the ANC last week Wednesday, and the structure will now report to the party’s top seven, its most senior office bearers. ANC deputy secretary Nomvula Mokonyane — in response to a question about this process — told the M&G on Monday: “I don’t know anything.” — Additional reporting by Lunga Mzangwe