Opposition parties on Monday stepped up their attack on individuals allegedly involved in the so-called Oilgate scandal.
The Freedom Front Plus laid charges against Imvume Management, the company at the centre of the scandal, at a Cape Town central police station just after 10.30am.
”The FF+ is convinced that a prima facie case of fraud exists against Imvume Management, as it appears from statements of PetroSA, as well as the report of the public protector, that Imvume convinced PetroSA to pay R15-million, to its detriment to Imvume, based on certain pretences by Imvume,” the FF+ said.
The Democratic Alliance also increased the heat.
DA MP Helen Zille said the party will be meeting the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in a bid to have it investigate Imvume’s alleged wrongdoings following new information that has come to light.
The African National Congress was reported to have been paid R11-million by the empowerment company, Imvume, before last year’s elections.
The money was said to have been paid from an advanced payment of R15-million Imvume had received from PetroSA to procure oil from supplier Glencore, which Imvume never supplied.
Zille said her party is finalising its Oilgate dossier before handing it to the NPA for consideration.
Since the DA first approached the prosecuting authority, ”there has been significantly more information which has come to light”, Zille said.
She said the DA welcomed the news that the FF+ had laid a charge in a Cape Town central police station.
”We must make sure that the government does not get away with just passing R11-million into the bank accounts of the ANC,” she said.
The new onslaught follows closely on the heels of the release of a report by the Public Protector, Lawrence Mushwana, in which he found that there was no evidence of wrongdoing.
Mushwana’s report also dismissed accusations against newly elected Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, saying they were not substantiated and without merit.
It has been alleged that during her term as minister of minerals and energy, Mlambo-Ngcuka improperly influenced PetroSA’s decision to make the advance payment to Imvume.
Tax questions
The NPA should also probe the tax implications of the R11-million donation by Imvume Management to the ANC, said the DA’s Zille.
She said Section 54 of the Income Tax Act states that any property or money disposed of by way of donation by a legal person — which includes private companies — is subject to donations tax.
At the current donations-tax rate of 20%, Imvume’s R11-million would incur a tax of R2,2-million.
Section 57 of the Act states that if property is disposed of (donated) by a person on behalf of a private company, then that person is deemed to be responsible for paying the donation.
”In other words, whoever motivated for the donation is liable for the donations tax. In the case of Imvume Management, the decision to make an R11-million donation to the ANC was motivated and authorised solely by Imvume chief executive Sandi Majali,” said Zille.
According to Section 60 of the Act, donations tax must be paid to the South African Revenue Service (SARS) within three months (90 days) of the date of the donation.
If the payment is not made timeously, the donor may be liable for penalties and these monies may be recovered from the assets of the corporation.
”Further, if the tax is not paid within the prescribed period, the donor (in this case Imvume) and recipient (the ANC) become jointly and severally liable for the unpaid tax.”
”As the money initially came from the South African taxpayer — via the parastatal PetroSA — it is critical that both Imvume and Majali are able to account for all elements surrounding this transaction.”
”The fact that Imvume Management was placed on the verge of liquidation following its donation to the ANC suggests that it was not in a position to make the necessary donation-tax payment to SARS.”
The Democratic Alliance said it would on Monday write to SARS commissioner Pravin Gordhan and bring this matter to his attention.
The DA also intends submitting parliamentary questions to the National Treasury to establish whether Imvume Management has ever been or is currently under investigation by SARS with reference to this payment. — I-Net Bridge, Sapa