Western Cape leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA) Gerald Morkel was dragged further into the mud on Tuesday when Jurgen Harksen resumed testimony before the Desai Commission.
Harksen told the commission that he at one point paid Morkel’s rent for six months and funded more than one DA meeting — including, apparently, the provincial founding congress at which Morkel was elected to his post.
He also testified that former Western Cape finance MEC Leon Markovitz told him he received millions of rands in kickbacks from a German hotel chain.
Harksen last week told Judge Siraj Desai that he gave more than a million rand to the DA — a claim which the party has heatedly denied. After that testimony, on the judge’s orders he was placed in protective custody.
Flanked by two armed and flak-jacketed police bodyguards, the alleged fraudster said on Tuesday that when Morkel was ousted from the provincial premiership and his official residence Leeuwenhof in December last year, a house he was building for himself was still incomplete.
He said Morkel wrote a letter to ask if he was prepared to pay six-months rent for a house in Higgovale in the city bowl, until the other home was finished.
The letter had since been seized by a police investigator, Piet Viljoen. Harksen said he handed over R45 000 in cash to Morkel, and a friend who he had introduced to Morkel paid the balance.
Asked by Desai whether he had offered the money as a donation, Harksen replied: ”No, he expected it as a donation”.
Harksen also testified that he gave about R55 000 to Morkel on two occasions for busses and catering at DA functions at which it was important for Morkel to win support.
Although Harksen was vague on the details, it appears one of them was the provincial founding congress in Stellenbosch in November last year, where Morkel was chosen leader.
On another occasion, in a ”very funky cigar lounge” in Sea Point, Morkel had asked whether he was able to come up urgently with a million rand to support the DA.
”I said that’s a lot of money, Gerald; I will have to consider my position. I will see what I can do.”
Morkel wanted to check whether Harksen had these resources, so Harksen put him in contact with a trustee of his accounts in Switzerland, Walter Studer.
Harksen said Studer, who he said was a Swiss MP, acting judge and president of the law society in Lucerne, was willing to appear before the commission to confirm he was called by Morkel.
Studer had confirmed to Morkel that Harksen was financially very strong ”and that if you have me as a friend you will have a lot of advantage out of me if money would be an advantage”.
On another occasion after ”a few glasses of wine” in another cigar lounge in the city with Morkel and his official speech writer, Kerry Capstickdale, Harksen learnt that Capstickdale was owed R30 000 for work he had done.
”I remember as if it was yesterday that Mr Morkel… told this Kerry: ‘Man don’t forget the R10 000 for me’.”
Harksen said he assumed that whatever Capstickdale got, Morkel, who is now mayor of Cape Town, was supposed to get a cut.
He said Markovitz, who was also tourism MEC, told him he had ”ensured” that the German Arabella hotel group got a sought-after and ecologically sensitive site for a hotel and spa at Hermanus, and the hotel concession at the new convention centre.
Markovitz had said he knew a Mr Schergruber, owner of the Arabella group and a very powerful businessman. Harksen told Desai that while he had no direct evidence, he had heard that Schergruber ”looked after” Markovitz.
”Markovitz told me he had ensured for Mr Schergruber the position of the Arabella hotel in the convention centre. He also told me … that he got a few million rand from the Schergruber family or some company to ensure that both hotels could be built.”
Last week Morkel and Markovitz released an affidavit signed by Harksen on April 22 in Goodwood prison, in which the German swore he had never given money to Morkel or the DA.
Harksen said the document was brought to him by Paul Katzeff, an attorney who was then acting for him and Morkel.
He signed it ”under protest”, in the belief that he was going to be extradited to Germany any day and that it would ”help a few friends” in South Africa if he signed.
The affidavit was not the truth, he said.
Harksen said Katzeff earlier, at Morkel’s request, asked him to sign another affidavit saying he had donated money to the African National Congress (ANC) and denying donations to the DA.
”I refused to sign that affidavit,” said Harksen.
Harksen is fighting a bid to extradite him to Germany to face multi-million rand tax and fraud charges.
Although the commission will continue with other witnesses, the rest of Harksen’s testimony has been postponed to June 18. – Sapa