Justin Arenstein
Mpumalanga Premier Ndaweni Mahlangu has done the one thing that everyone thought was impossible: he has become an international media sensation and has simultaneously caused a public rift within the African National Congress.
And the secret to Mahlangu’s dubious achievements appears to be that he based important decisions on inaccurate, or at best incomplete, reports from people directly implicated in fraud scandals.
Mahlangu’s office conceded on Thursday that it had not bothered to request copies of investigation reports on the promissory note or wider Mpumalanga Parks Board scandals from either the Ministry of Justice or investigators such as corruption buster Judge Willem Heath.
Mahlangu instead used the only two public press conferences during his short reign so far as Mpumalanga premier to rock the country.
He said during his first press conference last month it was acceptable for politicians to lie and for lying politicians to serve in the highest offices in the country. He later apologised for the statement, made in defence of MEC for Finance Jacques Modipane, but still insisted on blaming “inaccurate media reports”.
He was branded a world-class loser by influential publications such as Time magazine, and still faces a multimillion defamation suit from his predecessor, Mathews Phosa, as well as possible sanction by Public Protector Selby Baqwa for discrediting the integrity of public office.
Mahlangu used his second press conference in Johannesburg on Tuesday to tell the world that Judge Heath deliberately distorted facts and that Modipane was innocent of any wrongdoing despite his signature appearing on three illegal promissory notes. The promissory notes secretly used 32 provincial game reserves as collateral for a series of illegal offshore loans totalling R340-million.
Insisting Modipane’s signature was fraudulently attached to the documents, Mahlangu lashed out at Judge Heath for failing to vindicate Modipane and for unnecessarily dragging the investigation out over one year.
He added, in apparent reference to his recent pronouncement on lies: “Modipane and I were wrongly accused, judged, found guilty, sentenced and hanged. We trust that those people who acted as judge and executioner will publicly apologise.”
Mahlangu’s tirade was supported by ANC secretary general Kgalema Motlanthe, who accused Judge Heath of displaying contempt and warned his conduct “left a lot to be desired”.
Minister of Justice Penuell Maduna came to Judge Heath’s defence on Wednesday, however, saying the issue had been discussed in the Cabinet. He said he was happy with Judge Heath’s findings and the recommendations that the issue be referred to the police and other prosecuting authorities for further investigation.
Maduna described the furore surrounding the issue as “embarrassing”. But he refused to be drawn on Motlanthe or the ANC’s criticisms of Judge Heath, other than to stress “the government would be happier if the matter is dealt with appropriately”.
Mahlangu’s ANC-appointed representative, Sefako Nyaka, dismissed Maduna’s comments on Thursday and accused Judge Heath of having a “contemptuous agenda. People are too fixated on whether the signatures are Modipane’s or not when the real issue here is, why is [Judge] Heath so contemptuous?
“Why is he contemptuous of black people? He ran to the media before giving a report to us and did the same with [Nkosasana] Zuma,” said an irate Nyaka.
“He displays no respect for government and has been very systematic at cutting through established procedures. Why is he doing this? Why can’t he just behave like other people – like Bishop Desmond Tutu?”
Stressing that Mahlangu stuck by his statement earlier this week, Nyaka insisted there had been no need for the premier to first study a copy of Judge Heath’s investigation report or his mandate before commenting on them.
“We are not obliged to do so. In fact the law says [Judge] Heath is supposed to give us a copy of the report. He still has not done so.
“[But] we didn’t have to see it before making our comments. Why is it important? Are you implying we don’t think before we speak?
“You are undermining the intelligence of the ANC, and this is contemptuous. The ANC has no need to consult with [Judge] Heath.”
Nyaka refused to say whether Modipane’s version of events was the only one reviewed by Mahlangu, and refused to comment further.
Maduna’s office confirmed, however, that Mahlangu did not consult it on Judge Heath’s findings before going public.
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The furore is the exact opposite of what Mahlangu was supposed to achieve when President Thabo Mbeki appointed him premier. Mbeki and the ANC said at the time that Mahlangu, an untested outsider in the province, would attempt to heal the bitter divides caused by internal ANC faction fighting that cost Phosa his job.
The dour and uncharismatic former bantustan leader instead sidelined Phosa supporters and immediately appointed Modipane and the equally controversial Steve Mabona to the provincial Cabinet.
Mabona was forced to resign as provincial safety and security MEC in 1997. The Moldenhauer commission recommended he be fired from public office for his role in the fraudulent issue of two driver’s licences to parliamentary deputy speaker Baleka Mbete- Kgositsile.
Chief magistrate Heinrich Moldenhauer, in a 400-page report on endemic maladministration and widespread corruption in the provincial Department of Safety and Security, also slammed Mabona’s use of state funds and resources to bankroll his luxurious lifestyle.
Mahlangu dismissed the findings as “a miscarriage without substance”. He insisted Mabona only resigned from the provincial government to protect the ANC’s name.
He said Mabona had since filed a report claiming Moldenhauer’s findings were part of a personal vendetta after Mabona had turned down a job application from the magistrate. Moldenhauer has vehemently denied ever applying to any provincial government for work. He pointed out Mahlangu hadn’t contacted him to verify the allegations or commission recommendations, and threatened to sue for defamation.
Maduna’s public contradiction of Mahlangu’s views are the first public rift between senior ANC office bearers since Mbeki took office on June 16. The ANC itself will be on trial during the second phase of Judge Heath’s Mpumalanga Parks Board probe, which kicked off on Thursday.
The probe is designed to unravel exactly how suspended parks board chief executive Alan Gray allegedly created a web of secret front companies, bank accounts and double bookkeeping systems to channel state funds out of the parastatal.
Investigators have tracked at least R1,7- million through just two accounts, with R105 000 going directly to the ANC Youth League as a “donation” and unspecified amounts paid to ANC leaders or for ANC expenses. These include apparent payments for ANC provincial congresses, ANC promotional material, as well as travel, helicopter and accommodation expenses.
Even larger amounts were, however, apparently channelled to ANC front companies that Gray claims to have set up on behalf of the ANC to help boost its 1999 election campaign.
The network of at least 13 “empowerment” companies includes security, aviation, medical rescue, travel, tourism, casino and industrial ventures, and appears to rely heavily on government tenders and contracts.
Gray admitted setting up the shadowy network in a 43-page ultimatum to the ANC last year, when he warned that he would have to reveal the full extent of the operation unless maladministration and fraud charges against him were dropped.
He is instead being probed by Judge Heath’s special investigative unit, by the police, independent auditors Gobodo Incorporated and the Investigative Directorate for Serious Economic Offences.
Heath started interviewing witnesses in 30 of the larger transactions in Nelspruit on Thursday. – African Eye News Service