Cash donations made by developers to the civics organisation are to be investigated by police, writes Stefaans Brummer
THE South African National Civics Organisation (Sanco) acknowledged this week its relationship with business donors was “open to manipulation” following charges that the movement had accepted bribes from developers in the Free State.
Free State MEC for Safety and Security Papi Kganare instructed the police commercial crime unit to investigate corruption charges against, among others, Sanco, developers Stocks & Stocks and Ninham Chand Consultants. It was claimed last week that both companies had paid, or promised to pay, tens of thousands of rands to Sanco at a time when Sanco could have influenced tender decisions affecting the
Meanwhile, Sanco has owned up to “records of understanding” with more private and state-owned companies, including Sun International, Spescom, Escom, the Post Office and Telkom. Sanco also had a R2,2- million deal with Professional Builders in respect of the Ironsyde housing development in Vereeniging, the same development that spawned an ongoing corruption investigation against Winnie Mandela and the company Professional Builders earlier this year.
Sanco president Mlungisi Hlongwane told the Mail & Guardian this week Sanco still believed its policy of accepting “donations” from individual companies was, in principle, correct. But he acknowledged it was “open to manipulation” and that “many of our structures may be unavoidably sucked into that”.
Next month his national executive committee would review Sanco’s relations with companies that had an interest in government contracts; in the meantime, it was consulting former executive committee members now in national and provincial government who had entered Sanco into earlier records of understanding with companies, Hlongwane said.
Kganare’s announcement of a corruption probe followed publication by the Sowetan of details from minutes of a Sanco Free State working committee meeting on June 13, which note that developers Stocks & Stocks promised R150 000 to fund a Sanco conference, and of evidence that Ninham Shand Consultants had promised to co- ordinate building contractors to donate R52 000 for Sanco loan guarantees and administration costs.
Both companies, the article said, had at the time tendered in a provincial contract for a R60-million shopping complex in Bloemfontein — while the provincial tender board contained two members nominated by Sanco.
The minutes note: “Development of Hoffman Square, a proposed multi-million rand complex, has been hampered by a bad impression created at the tender board as Stocks has been treated very badly. This hindrance could have a zero response on the R150 000 funding towards Sanco’s conference.” Stocks & Stocks, which was later awarded the tender, has confirmed it gave Sanco R210 000 and “other assistance”.
The M&G has a copy of a document, dated May 21 1994, in which Professional Builders Bop managing director Vic Daniels promised a “donation” of R2,2-million to the local Sanco structure in respect of a housing development it wanted to start at Ironsyde,
It appears that Daniels had not yet secured all rights from authorities, and that a good word from civic leaders could have clinched it. The document makes it clear that payment of the “donation” was dependent on Sanco providing “adequate protection for construction workers, delivery vehicles and building inspectors”; on Sanco ensuring that repayments to finance houses “not be boycotted” by the community; and on Sanco “assisting with the marketing of this project to ensure its speedy and successful completion”.
The question to be asked of the Ironsyde agreement — and about records of understanding with other companies — is whether Sanco’s side of the deal can be equated to a demand for “protection money”, and whether a clause like Sanco “assisting with the marketing of the project” means Sanco will use its civic influence to get authorities to approve a development.
Internal resistance and leakage of details apparently led to Sanco pulling out of the Ironsyde deal. But just how thin the ice the movement was skating on is demonstrated by what happened when, as it is alleged, Winnie Mandela took Sanco’s place.
When Mandela’s home, the offices of her Co-ordinated Anti-Poverty Programme and premises connected to Professional Builders were raided by police earlier this year, a document surfaced which appeared to confirm that Professional Builders Bop had given Mandela an option on 50 percent of the shares in a new company, Professional Builders South Africa. The document appeared to show that Mandela, then still deputy minister, had nominated her daughter Zinzi as owner of the shares.
The implication was that shares would have been dished out in exchange for Mandela using her influence to get approval for the development proposal. Police confirmed this week that Professional Builders, its directors and Mandela were still under investigation for alleged contraventions of the Companies Act and the Corruption Act — and that the investigation was “aimed at proceedings in court”.