Former Western Cape finance MEC Leon Markovitz has admitted he did not issue a receipt for the DM99 000 at the heart of the Western Cape political funding scandal.
A recent forensic audit by the Democratic Alliance ducked the issue of the donation, conceding that the exchange of the Deutschmark was irregular but saying it could not identify the source.
German tax fugitive Jürgen Harksen insists he gave DM105 000 to Mark-ovitz for the DA, but the latter maintained the foreign exchange came from “Hans”, a German who desperately wanted to remain anonymous.
“I’ve never issued a receipt. My job ends when I receive a donation,” Markovitz, described as the DA’s top fundraiser, told the Desai com- mission on Thursday. He insisted there was nothing wrong with the transaction, as donors to the DA were afraid to give money openly.
“There are many companies in this town, people from overseas that have a great fear of the political party holding almost two-thirds [of power],” he said.
After weeks of politically damaging testimony — particularly from sacked Absa banker Erik Marais, who exchanged most of the Deutsch-marks in five instalments — the DA was determined to score political points. Markovitz delivered a lecture on political funding during “the struggle days” when people, including ex-Indonesian dictator Suharto, gave money anonymously.
The central issue is the identity of the mysterious “Hans”, who gave an envelope containing the currency to Markovitz at his provincial administration office. Markovitz testified he accepted it because “he looked to me a proper person, a gentleman”.
Markovitz maintained he “never got a brass farthing” from Harksen.
Yet the commission on Wednesday heard from Harksen’s former attorney Paul Katzeff that the German usually organised funds through third parties. That is how his legal fees had been paid for eight years: via transfers from Germany by third parties who provided affidavits that the money was not linked to Harksen.