Flamboyant Mpumalanga politician Steve Mabona’s surprise resignation two weeks ago came after the African National Congress repeatedly grilled him on truancy.
Legislature records indicate that Mabona has missed 78% of legislature and portfolio committee sittings in the past 14 months, failing to arrive at 57 of 73 meetings he was meant to attend.
Mabona’s written excuses range from “traffic” to ill health, personal business and an apparently busy schedule testifying in court cases.
The traffic excuses refer to Mabona’s 700km round trip between his upmarket home in Bryanston, Johannesburg, and his legislature office in the Mpumalanga capital, Nelspruit. Taxpayers refunded Mabona R1 365 per trip for his travel expenses. The 16 meetings he did attend in Nelspruit cost the taxpayer R22 000, or the equivalent of a low-cost government house.
Mabona expressed surprise on Wednesday at the number of meetings he’d missed and insisted that “I’m sure I attended most of them.”
“Traffic was a problem because of accidents on the N4, and the court cases were necessary for me to defend my good name against media allegations that I was involved in tender fraud and [corruption],” said Mabona.
On his departure from the legislature, he said: “I have served the South African people for 11 years now, and felt it time to give other comrades a chance. I also needed to return to my private business interests in Johannesburg, Durban and Limpopo. I’m not interested in Mpumalanga any more. They blow every small thing into something big.”
Mabona’s resignation marks the end of an often stormy political career. Appointed to Mathews Phosa’s 1994 cabinet as safety and security minister, he was almost immediately plunged into controversy for using public funds for “excessive” use of luxury hotels, chauffeured cars and chartered planes between Nelspruit and his Johannesburg home.
He was also slammed by the Moldenhauer commission for his role in securing fraudulent learner’s and driver’s licences for parliamentary speaker Baleka Mbete-Kgositsile.
Two years later, Mabona was fighting allegations of massive tender irregularities after accepting a R1-million payment from a contractor who allegedly received an unprocedural R6-million contract. — -African Eye News Service