South Africa’s official opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) has urged Finance Minister Trevor Manuel to ask the Public Investment Commissioners (PIC) not to fund the Ngcaba-Ngonyama-Serobe consortium in its bid for the 15,1% Thintana stake in Telkom.
In a statement on Wednesday, it said it trusted that ”institutional sense” would prevail when the Commissioners — who are entrusted with the government pensions scheme — considered the request for funding from Ngcaba, who is a former communications department director-general, Smuts Ngonyama, the national ruling African National Congress (ANC) spokesperson and Gloria Serobe, a former Transnet finance officer.
The PIC announced its deal this week, adding that it was warehousing the deal for an empowerment grouping.
DA MP Dene Smuts said: ”Finance Minister Trevor Manuel exerts influence at the PIC.
”He has the power to issue directives in the public interest. In addition, the Congress of South African Trade Unions should use its position alongside government in the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) board, which negotiates all monies invested on behalf of the GEPF by the PIC, to challenge this investment in its present form.”
Smuts said: ”Communications Minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri is also in a position to throw a spanner in the works, and we sincerely hope she will not be constrained by the ruling party from doing the right thing.
”She began to make an impact as communications minister only once former director general Andile Ncgaba departed [earlier this year], and real liberalisation commenced. However, it is very difficult to believe that the ANC did not approve, or even instigate, the consortium cobbled together by Smuts Ngonyama.
”Matsepe-Casaburri’s disingenuous comment last week that the links between the consortium and the ANC would not be a factor in government’s decision because it did not want to ‘discriminate against people because of their political beliefs’ did not bode well for the public interest.”
Smuts said Smuts Ngonyama’s assertion in a daily newspaper that his involvement was purely personal ”is not convincing”.
”His post as head of the ANC presidency should immediately preclude his involvement in deals of this nature. His insistence that the consortium is not crony capitalism, but represents a broad base of people ‘to be unveiled later’, likewise invites scepticism. Even if half the value of the deal eventually benefits the poor [as is claimed], that leaves R3,6-billion to the very narrow base of well-connected cronies.” – I-Net Bridge