The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has yet to receive a complaint by the Democratic Alliance about its handling of the Oilgate scandal, spokesperson Makhosini Nkosi said on Monday.
”When the said complaint is brought to the NPA’s attention, it will be given due consideration on the basis of its merits,” he said.
Nkosi, however, voiced concern over the DA’s conduct in the matter, accusing its minerals and energy spokesperson Hendrik Schmidt of ”improper and incorrect utterances that apparently seek to cast aspersions on the NPA and its integrity”.
Earlier on Monday, Schmidt claimed National Director of Public Prosecutions Vusi Pikoli had refused to act on the Oilgate scandal for six months.
Labelling this as disgraceful, Schmidt said it served only to give the impression that the National Directorate of Public Prosecutions was ”desperately hoping the matter will simply go away”.
Undisputed facts he claimed were at the heart of the scandal — first reported by the Mail & Guardian — included the payment of a R15-million advance by PetroSA to Imvume Management for a shipment of oil condensate.
Schmidt charged that Imvume had used the advance to make an R11-million donation to the African National Congress’s 2004 election campaign, resulting in the company’s insolvency, and necessitating that PetroSA pay a second time for the condensate.
Although PetroSA took legal action against Imvume to recover the money, the case was settled out of court, Schmidt said.
”The National Prosecuting Authority’s failure to take any decisive action in this regard is in and of itself a scandal.
”The ANC has been allowed to pocket a substantial amount of what is effectively South African taxpayers’ money without being called to account,” he said.
In his response, Nkosi reiterated the NPA’s position when the matter was referred to it several months ago: the complaint had been referred to the Office of the Public Protector.
The NPA had further suggested that anyone who believed the law was broken in the course of the oil deal refer their complaints to the South African Police Service.
”The NPA is opposed to a parallel investigation on this or any other matter,” Nkosi said. — Sapa