In the week the TRC released its final report, Penuell Maduna was trying to hide the name of an African politician who enjoyed the National Party’s largesse, writes Mungo Soggot
The bizarre saga of how the apartheid government bankrolled the election of a West African president by inflating the South African taxpayers’ crude oil bill took a further extraordinary twist when the Minister of Minerals and Energy, Penuell Maduna, this week sought to protect the politician’s identity.
Oil industry sources confirm the man whom Maduna tried to protect is Henri Konan Bedie, the president of Cte d’Ivorie, who was in South Africa last month on a state visit.
It emerged at Public Protector Selby Baqwa’s hearing in Pretoria this week that investigators probing the state oil company uncovered documents outlining an extraordinary scheme hatched by the former government to raise $3-million for an African politician.
The scheme – which was documented in a letter from the state oil company to the then minister of energy – boiled down to adding an extra $0,35 to the cost of each barrel of oil imported in terms of an 150 000 barrels a day oil contract. The commission was paid to a middleman oil trader who passed the bulk of it on to Bedie.
At the time of going to press, Baqwa was due to hear argument from Maduna’s lawyers as to why he should issue a permanent interdict against the disclosure of the politician’s identity. According to SABC radio news, which reported the essence of the deal, Baqwa issued a temporary gagging order on Wednesday prohibiting the disclosure or publication of the politician’s identity after hearing an application from Maduna’s counsel.
It is understood that the letter from the state oil company to the Cabinet minister, Danie Steyn, indicated the scheme had been arranged on the minister’s instructions and would further the government’s political “oogmerke” (aims).
Maduna’s application to hide the politician’s name was opposed by the Auditor General Henri Kluever and by the suspended head of the state oil trading company, Kobus van Zyl, both of whom said the relevant documents must be made public.
Lawyers at the hearing said Naidu indicated that Maduna had asked to him to seek the gagging order “as a member of the Cabinet” and had also signalled he would be receiving instructions from the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Cte d’Ivorie was the first African country to establish diplomatic relations with South Africa during the 1980s. It would naturally be embarrassing for it to emerge that President Bedie was elected with the help of the National Party.
He became president after the death in 1993 of Felix Houphouet-Boigny, a long-time advocate of dtente with apartheid South Africa.
During his visit to South Africa last month, Bedie was honoured by being invited to address Parliament.
It is ironic that Maduna sought to interdict the release of these extraordinary documents for they provide vindication of his efforts to delve into the state oil company’s mysterious past. The documents detailing the scheme are the first documentary proof that the former NP government used the state oil company for covert funding operations.
When Parliament appointed Baqwa to investigate there was much speculation in the oil industry that Maduna had adopted his aggressive strategy in an effort to score political points against the NP.
Maduna has incurred considerable criticism from opposition parties and the press for his stance on the state oil company.
Maduna’s fight with Kluever and the state oil company started in March last year when he suspended Van Zyl “on probable cause” after appointing accountants to examine the state oil company’s accounts.
The charge sheet against Van Zyl was slashed from 80 to five charges, none of which are fraud. An internal disciplinary inquiry is expected to announce its findings shortly.
Baqwa entered the fray in June when Maduna lashed out at the auditor general in Parliament last year, his most serious allegation being that the finance watchdog was party to the theft of R170-million of oil.
Maduna’s counsel has admitted that it is impossible to substantiate this allegation – a concession which has fuelled criticism of Maduna
The bill for Baqwa’s inquiry – which is primarily aimed at exploring the auditor general’s handling of the state oil company’s books – is expected to exceed R10-million.
The inquiry, which has still to hear evidence from Maduna and Kluever, is expected to end in December.