Pan Africanist Congress leader Motsoko Pheko has until April 28 to account for missing parliamentary travel vouchers or face possible civil proceedings, the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court heard on Thursday.
However, Bernhard Kurz, appearing for liquidators trying to recoup R500 000 from the PAC, warned Pheko that his clients reserved the right to issue summons earlier.
Pheko’s appearance on Thursday was the latest in the Travelgate liquidation saga. His PAC predecessor, Stanley Mogoba, was in the dock on Tuesday.
Under cross-examination, Pheko insisted his conscience is clear over his use of parliamentary travel vouchers.
Twenty-five existing and former MPs — not including Pheko — go on trial in July in connection with what the state claims was a multimillion-rand voucher scam.
”I want to say categorically that all the vouchers that I have myself used were paid for, and I know nothing about any others that may have been abused,” said Pheko.
His name, and those of his dependants, are being scrutinised as liquidators check on 30 South African Airways air tickets.
One of the tickets, worth R6 167, was for a flight from Cape Town to Johannesburg to Mthatha and back to Johannesburg, allegedly booked in the name of Pheko’s daughter Mohau.
According to Kurz, this ticket was ”voided” on the same day it was issued, but was sent to Parliament for payment before being cancelled.
Agreeing that a number of questionable vouchers bore his signature, Pheko emphasised that had not completed them.
He had handed blank vouchers to Mogoba’s former driver, PAC security official Mthuthuzeli Mama. ”In general, when I could not do my bookings, Mr Mama did the bookings for me.”
Questioned about the R170 000 in car hire and flights clocked up by Mama, Pheko conceded that the PAC caucus had decided Mama should undertake constituency work.
Pheko was less clear on how the PAC, which had a parliamentary budget of R230 000, was able to pay the travelling arrangements of himself, Mogoba and Mama.
PAC administrative official June Adams testified on Tuesday that their travel arrangements were not paid for from either the party’s constituency or parliamentary budgets.
In previous appearances, Pheko testified that air tickets valued at R123 000 were issued in his name during 2002/03, but not used. ”If the vouchers were abused, they were certainly not abused by me,” he told magistrate Kaila Pillay on Thursday.
Questioned on the veracity of testimony by Mama that sponsors sometime organised cash or credit notes to fund PAC officials’ travel arrangements, Pheko replied that only Mama could answer that.
”When I travel, I use parliamentary vouchers, they are the only authorised source … He [Mama] may have another source of information that I do not know of,” said Pheko. — Sapa