Five bank deposit slips for R269 000 appear to have finally sunk Cape Town mayor Gerald Morkel’s repeated claims that the Democratic Alliance never received a cent from German tax fugitive Jurgen Harksen.
With the damaging testimony emerging in the Desai commission, Morkel’s political career may end at the Western Cape DA congress in October.
Appearing before the commission this week, Morkel again insisted neither he, nor former Western Cape finance MEC Leon Markovitz, nor the party received “a blue cent”.
However, his claims were contradicted by the five deposit slips from September 28 last year to January 5 this year, totalling R269 000, submitted to the commission as evidence.
The cash was paid into the DA bank accounts by sacked Absa manager Erik Marais, who collected DM99 000 on instruction of Morkel at the DA provincial headquarters.
Earlier Morkel had asked former DA provincial secretary Werner Schwella to get the cash from the offices of then finance MEC Markovitz.
Despite backtracking on the dates of the money trail, Harksen maintained under cross-examination he paid R750 000, including DM105 000, to the DA in what turned out to be “an expensive friendship”.
Marais and Schwella reconfirmed their earlier testimony this week. Marais said he had asked a woman friend to fill in the five deposit slips with different signatures to ensure the donation remained anonymous.
The five deposits totalling R269 000 also correspond with the anonymous donations to the DA confirmed in the testimony in May of Hennie Bester, former DA Western Cape deputy leader and former community safety MEC.
At the time the commission was questioning witnesses on an alleged R500 000 donation from Harksen, which Morkel finally conceded knowledge of on Thursday. Yet Morkel maintained it had been Markovitz who dealt with the promised donation. It is expected Markovitz will deny ever getting money from Harksen.
Having looked confident and relaxed giving his evidence in chief, Morkel turned evasive under cross-examination. He repeatedly said he could not hear the questions, and on one occasion answered with a question of his own.
Linguistic leaps followed probing on whether Harksen’s pending fraud and tax-evasion charges would have stopped his association or acceptance of the R500 000 had Harksen delivered.
“If it was legitimate money, obviously [I would have accepted it] because he would have got it from an overseas company,” Morkel finally said. “Only when I did get the money would I know what to do … I might have accepted. Chances are that I would have accepted it. I’d offer to give him a receipt.”
Asked whether it would have been wiser never to meet Harksen, Morkel replied: “I cannot stand as judge and jury until people are convicted.”
Later in the afternoon Morkel again changed his mind and said he would not have accepted the money if it had come from Harksen personally.
For months Morkel maintained neither he, Markovitz nor the DA received any money from Harksen, but that a donation from “legitimate businessmen” was offered. Both men were rapped over the knuckles for their public association with the German fraudster in private clubs, posh restaurants and at public functions.
The self-proclaimed “Charles Bronson of the Cape” has weathered months of political controversy after being ousted as premier only to return to the political scene as mayor. He refused to bow to pressure, and was finally stripped of his ceremonial functions by the DA.
Morkel, who was ready to throw in the towel and help build the DA following the acrimonious split late last year, wanted to form a NGO, the Network of Democratic Activist Leaders, for this purpose. But others persuaded him to fight back. Morkel testified that Harksen advised him: “In this country you can litigate … If you need to get legal advice and people, I know half the Bar.”
Morkel’s first salvo came shortly after he was sworn in on Wednesday: “If I say so myself … I’m pretty good at collecting money.” He added in praise of Markovitz: “We were the top team for the New National Party and DA in this province.”
Morkel continued to deny ever receiving money from Harksen: “Not a blue cent” — derived from the Afrikaans blou duit — became his refrain. But he admitted receiving $2 500 from German businessman Wilfried Sauerland, who was introduced to him by Harksen and who shares his passion for golf and boxing.