While Sub-Saharan countries have increased the number of children in primary school by 75% since 2000
R100-million has disappeared and an anonymous source to the United Democratic Movement is pinning it on the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) and its chief executive, Dan Matjila.
According to UDM leader Bantu Holomisa, a source has come forward alleging that the PIC and Matjila is involved in the disappearance of R100-million.
In an open letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa, Holomisa alleges that the PIC approved an amount of R1.7-billion in 2015 which was meant to be spent on investment company Kilimanjaro Sakhumnotho Consortium Limited’s “Project Atlas”. However, according to Holomisa, instead of paying out the R1.7-billion that was agreed on in the contract, R1.8-billion was disbursed.
The “Project Atlas” deal, Holomisa said, would have seen Kilimanjaro Sakhumnotho Consortium buying 91.8% of the share capital of Tosaco Energy. Tosaco Energy is Total South Africa’s BEE partner.
In a conversation between Matjila and the consortium’s chairperson, Lawrence Mulaudzi, it is alleged that the R100-million difference was split with R50-million being spent on “transactional advisers” while the other R50-million “went to recapitalising the company”.
Holomisa has called on Matjila to either produce the minutes of the board meeting where the agreed amount of R1.7-billion went up to R1.8-billion , and how this was decided on, or to provide an addendum where the contract between the PIC and the consortium — detailing the increase of R100-million — was approved.
The UDM also wants Ramaphosa to extend the terms of referencefor the state of capture inquiry to include the PIC’s “entire saga of alleged deals” under the leadership of Matjila.
In June, Holomisa approached the high court in Pretoria asking it to suspend Matjila following a string of allegations levelled against the PIC boss.
Matjila has denied the allegations of corruption, and the PIC has called Holomisa’s allegations “unfortunate”, “malicious, patently false and contestable”, the Business Day reported.
The UDM is facing a lawsuit after it implicated Lebashe Investment Group, and its directors Warren Wheatley, former PIC staffer Tshepo Mahloele, and former deputy finance minister Jabu Moleketi as players in the PIC’s “iceberg of corruption”.
READ MORE: Who will call the PIC to account?
According to Holomisa, the lawsuit follows the party asking “some pertinent questions” of Ramaphosa “regarding possible conflict of interest and an alleged corrupt relationship between various role-players linked to the PIC, its Pan African Infrastructure Development Fund”, Lebashe and Harith General Partners.
Read Holomisa’s letter to the president in full:
July 9: Bantu Holomisa to Cyril Ramaphosa