The Rasool letter bombshell

Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool is likely to face his biggest credibility crisis after revelations that he ordered the Auditor General’s staff out of the offices of a provincial government department where they were set to begin a special investigation into suspected financial maladministration and fraud.

The department in question, that of community safety, falls under Western Cape Minister Leonard Ramatlakane, a close Rasool ally the premier is accused of shielding against corruption allegations. This week the Western Cape legislature found that Rasool ‘misled the house” on three occasions over Ramatlakane.

The Mail & Guardian is in possession of a letter written by the head of the community safety department, Gilbert Lawrence, to Western Cape Auditor General Justin Diedericks, saying that Rasool had personally instructed him to stop a special investigation ordered by the legislature and withdraw his staff.

‘As discussed with you telephonically this letter confirms the instruction I have received from the premier regarding the cessation of the special investigation. Kindly ensure that your staff are withdrawn from our offices. I will inform you when I receive further direction in this matter.”

The letter is dated November 15.

The M&G understands that some of Diedericks’s staffers had arrived at the department’s offices in central Cape Town and announced their intention of starting their investigation into the department’s finances, which had been ordered by the legislature and its standing committee on public accounts (Scopa).

The premier’s head of communication, Jeremy Michaels, confirmed that Rasool had ‘communicated” with Lawrence in a bid to prevent the Auditor General’s personnel from carrying out an investigation ‘because there were officials who may have wanted to compromise the workings of the AG’s office”. Michaels would not elaborate.

He added that the national Auditor General, Terence Nombembe, ‘has indicated that he would meet the premier to discuss the matter”.

The legislature adopted Scopa’s terms of reference for a special investigation in August last year after persistent rumours of fraud in the community safety department, which has received qualified audit reports three years on the trot.

In the department’s 2006/07 annual report, the acting accounting officer said he believed the department ‘has poor control … and [this] is a very serious matter which needs to be addressed”.

This week, an ad hoc committee of the legislature, chaired by ANC deputy speaker Yusuf Gabru, tabled a 37-page report which found that Rasool had lied to the legislature on three occasions about misappropriation of funds in the community safety department.

Scopa released a report last year calling for a full audit of Ramatlakane and his alleged use of departmental funds for a R347 716 security upgrade on his private home.

Scopa recommended that the provincial minister repay the money, less R100 000 allowed for his security in the provincial budget. He has since repaid R92 479, ­meaning that he has received more than R150 000 as a gift from the ­taxpayer.

Rasool has repeatedly insisted that his minister should not be asked to repay the money or be investigated. Arguing that the former Western Cape Auditor General, Imraan Jeewa, had recommended that Scopa condone the payment irregularities, he is said to be consulting his legal team.

However, in a devastating blow to his version of events, Jeewa, who has since moved to the private sector, wrote a letter to Scopa last year saying that he had made no such ­recommendation. He also denied telling Rasool that there was no evidence of fraud or corruption in Ramatlakane’s spending spree.

Rasool is also adamant that he did not lie to the legislature about Ramatlakane. The M&G has been shown a copy of a sworn statement by Jeewa recommending to Rasool that the ‘management of the department seek condonation or ex post facto approval from the relevant decision-making authority”.

The M&G has established that Mbeki, in Cape Town for the G20 meeting, did meet a group of provincial ANC leaders at their request — not because he called the meeting, as reported in the Argus. ‘The president didn’t summon anybody; the meeting was requested by the individuals,” a source said.

Among Rasool’s party rivals who are understood to have been at the meeting were provincial ANC chair­person Mcebisi Skwatsha and the party’s legislature chief whip Max ­Ozinsky — although both men refused to confirm this.

A senior member of Rasool’s camp confirmed that Mbeki supported Rasool at the meeting and that the two sides had agreed that the matter should be resolved without going to court.

Ozinsky and Skwatsha both refused to comment on the meeting.

Mbeki’s spokesperson, Mukoni Ratshitanga, said the president ‘never intervened — allegations that he intervened is false”. He would not explain what he meant.

Ratshitanga added: ‘It’s premature to ask the president what he is going to do on a matter that’s before the legislature when they’ve not deliberated on it. I don’t know if the president received the report [of the legislature’s ad hoc committee on ­Ramatlakane].”

Support for Mbeki is finely balanced in the Western Cape, with about 50% of ANC branches indicating that they would vote for Mbeki and 50% supporting Jacob Zuma as the next ANC president.

With his strong support base in the province Rasool is seen as Mbeki’s most important backer.

The DA’s corruption spokes­person, Robin Carlisle, a member of Scopa, said this week that Rasool’s decision to stop the Auditor General from conducting an investigation into the community safety department had ‘created a most grave crisis with implications for the provincial parliament and the premier.

‘What on earth is inside community safety that the premier has gone to such lengths to hide, including misleading the house and blocking an investigation ordered by the legislature?” he asked.

He added: ‘Rasool’s misleading of the house made his continued role as premier untenable. This latest halting of the Auditor General’s investigation has made it impossible.”

Carlisle has asked the Scopa chairperson to convene a ‘most urgent meeting of Scopa to deal with the matter”.

Crisis meeting

In another development this week, the Cape Argus reported that six ANC provincial heavyweights had requested a meeting with President Thabo Mbeki about the latest crisis involving Ibrahim Rasool. At the meeting, which Rasool attended, Mbeki reportedly told them he would not fire the premier and to ‘stop dragging his name through the mud”.

The president also allegedly urged Rasool not to fight his battle with the legislature in court.

Rasool is Mbeki’s main ANC backer in a bitterly divided provincial party, where loyalties in the ANC leadership race rest on a knife edge. The Western Cape and the other eight ANC provinces meet this weekend to decide their leadership nominations for the upcoming conference in Polokwane.

It is understood that the Democratic Alliance may propose a montion of no-confidence in Rasool in the legislature on Monday. It is unclear how the premier’s powerful enemies on the ANC benches would vote on this.