/ 29 August 2017

ANC councillor referred to ethics committee for selling public land

The latest move by the ANC to decline Lenk's invitation comes after the party adopted a policy recommendation
The latest move by the ANC to decline Lenk's invitation comes after the party adopted a policy recommendation

In a closed meeting at the City of Johannesburg’s council sitting on Tuesday, ANC councillor Dan Bovu faced renewed pressure to account for allegations that he accepted a bribe to sell public land for housing.

Democratic Alliance councillor Suzanne Clarke proposed a motion that Bovu, a former mayoral committee member for housing, appear before the ethics committee in the City of Johannesburg.

Clarke said in her motion that since a criminal case was opened against Bovu in October 2015 for “instructing” a community member to pay him for a portion of land no action has been taken against the ANC councillor. Bovu also allegedly gave permission to the community member to construct a house on the parcel of land after he received the money.

The motion proposed by the DA has formed part of the party’s wider attempt to argue it has taken a stance against corruption following reports of state capture within the ruling party. Earlier this year, the ANC in the Western Cape hit back by telling the DA to take stock of its own corrupt officials. The opposition party’s federal executive had found that two of its councillors in the City of Cape Town were guilty of fraud and corruption.

Bovu remained on the MMC for housing in the City of Johannesburg up until he was sworn into the municipality’s new council last year when he became outgoing MMC. His swearing in ceremony was disrupted when members of the Economic Freedom Fighters protested his appointment as councillor.

The party said that they had opened a case of corruption and fraud against Bovu and demanded that the police arrest him.

“Corruption is eating away at opportunities of the poor masses. Here we are, to be sworn in, but we are also agreeing to being an accessory to a crime,” Musa Novela, the EFF’s then councillor-elect in Alexandra, said.

The EFF also accused Bovu of attempting to bribe its members with R500 000 to get more votes for the ANC during the City of Johannesburg election last year. But Bovu said he doesn’t do bribes.

“I was away this weekend with my family and I never met with anyone from the EFF. Where will I even get so much money to bribe people … I don’t do bribes,” he said.

The DA today asked that Bovu be investigated by the ethics committee and that the Group Forensics and Investigation Services Unit provide relevant information that is requested by the committee. The party also asked that Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba speak with the Gauteng head of the National Prosecuting Authority to resolve why Bovu has not yet been prosecuted.