The ANC chairperson said there was no prima facie case or evidence against him in the report and therefore he would not step aside from his position in the party.
ANC chairperson and Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe said on Wednesday that he would take the State Capture Commission report, in which he is implicated in corrupt dealings with services company Bosasa, on judicial review.
“I will not at this stage avail myself to the specifics of the findings as this is a matter that requires legal scrutiny, which is something I am now preparing myself for with my legal team, for the eventuality of the supposed investigation recommended in the report,” Mantashe said during a media briefing.
In the third part of the commission’s report, Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, who chaired the commission, said that upon further investigation, authorities are likely to find evidence that Mantashe was corrupt in dealings with Bosasa, which paid for upgrades to his home when he was secretary general of the ANC.
Mantashe emphasised at the press briefing that he was speaking in his capacity as the chairperson of the ANC, not as minister of mineral resources and energy.
He said there was no prima facie case or evidence against him in the report and therefore he would not step aside from his ANC position. “I read the report and it is struggling to link me to anything … it is human to err and that is why I will take the report to the judiciary.”
Mantashe said the ANC had set up a committee to process the report and that he would subject himself to that process.
In his report, Zondo refers to Bosasa as a business organisation that was “heavily invested in securing tenders from particular government departments and organs of state”.
Bosasa upgraded security at Mantashe’s Boksburg property, as well as at his homes in Cala and Elliotdale in the Eastern Cape. The work was commissioned by former Bosasa chief executive Papa Leshabane.
Mantashe said the upgrades were an innocent contribution from Leshabane, who was a family friend.
“Papa Leshabane is a family friend and had been to Cala for a lot of workings [traditional ceremonies] and that’s where I learned to sing Pedi songs. There has been an ongoing relationship and I refer to him as a family friend”.
Zondo said in the report that there was reasonable suspicion that Mantashe received the free installations knowing that Leshabane sought to influence decision-makers in the awarding of contracts.
Zondo noted that Mantashe was in a “powerful” position as the then secretary general of the ANC, and was close to decision-makers.
Responding to this, Mantashe said he was not in a position of power where he could influence the awarding of tenders.
His legal team was analysing the report, said Mantashe. “I will therefore appreciate it if you will allow me to get on with my work in government and in the party without hindrance or further speculation until there is an investigation and a case to answer.”
Anathi Madubela is an Adamela Trust business reporter at the M&G