Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan should come clean and welcome the decision to refer the abortive SAA-Takatso deal to the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) if they could prove there was nothing untoward.
That is the view of political science academics as a row has erupted between the department and portfolio committee chairperson Khaya Magaxa after the committee recommended that the SIU investigate further the now cancelled SAA-Takatso deal.
The department accused Magaxa of waging a “rogue campaign”. Magaxa hit backon Thursday, saying the department’s conduct was “bordering towards bullying and abuse”.
This comes after the committee made their recommendation to National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula following the conclusion of their investigation into the transaction.
The probe was sparked by allegations levelled by former department director-general Kgathatso Tlhakudi against Gordhan.
Magaxa announced on Wednesday that the committee acknowledged the complexity of the matter and the need for a thorough and credible investigation.
The committee had agreed with Tlhakudi that Takatso Consortium was not included in the shortlist when Rand Merchant Bank evaluated the expressions of interest from potential strategic equity partners.
Magaxa had stated that they were concerned about the undervaluation of SAA and the need for a comprehensive evaluation of the business.
“It is essential to address the sequence of events that led to the undervaluation and to investigate any potential corruption or misconduct in the process,” he said.
On Thursday, the department accused Magaxa of misleading the public by insinuating impropriety in the abortive deal and accused him of not sticking to the terms of the investigation.
“Magaxa appears instead to have gone on what increasingly looks to be a rogue campaign to accuse and convict DPE, and by extension Minister Pravin Gordhan, of impropriety without a shred of evidence, and by going beyond his mandate and by sidestepping the legal opinion of Parliament’s own legal adviser.
“In essence, Mr Magaxa has turned a legitimate oversight exercise into a kangaroo court at which the DPE and its staff have been slandered, denigrated and pilloried for the sake of politicking.”
The department’s stance was despite acting director-general Jacky Molisane stating they were not opposed to any investigation by any law enforcement agency because they had nothing to hide.
In his response, Magaxa told the “Cape Times” that it was surprising the department issued a statement responding to the committee’s decision.
“Our mandate from the Speaker of Parliament was to investigate allegations directed to the minister by the former director-general. We never investigated the DPE,” he said.
Magaxa also said Gordhan was supposed to have answered the allegations.
“I don’t understand where they feature in this whole process because we have no mandate of investigating them.”
Magaxa also said he did not have a reason to embark on any campaign to wrongly accuse Gordhan.
“According to my understanding and my experience, we have always been on good terms with him and have worked together since 2019 with no personal clashes.
I personally respect him as my senior leader of our movement who has credibility and always admired him. Therefore, it’s a fallacy and mischievous that I would launch such a negative campaign.”
Magaxa added that the committee took a unanimous decision based on the facts presented to them as both Tlhakudi and Gordhan were given the opportunity to present their cases and present all the necessary documentation.
“It’s not correct to unfairly attribute parliamentary processes to one person. I think that borders towards bullying and abuse,” he said.
Unisa political science professor Dirk Kotze said this was not something new with SAA, particularly with the portfolio committees and Gordhan.
“In the past they had an almost similar situation and I think this was obviously to avoid investigation. Takatso has become an embarrassment for him and the department. It is something that appears they had taken the confidence of the public and Parliament for granted,” Kotze said.
He said the department should just welcome the SIU probe if they could prove there was nothing untoward in the deal.
University of KwaZulu-Natal political science lecturer Zakhele Ndlovu said Gordhan was perceived as someone “clean and whose hands are not dirty”.
“When something like this happens, obviously he is to be defensive. The portfolio committee was doing its job to hold the executive accountable. He needs to come clean and provide all the documents. The matter will be resolved,” Ndlovu said.
Cape Times