Staff Reporter
Suspended ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule says the state is wasting his time in the asbestos corruption case having allegedly failed to provide him with the names of witnesses against him so he can prepare his defence.
He said this as he arrived at the Free State High Court in Bloemfontein on Monday morning for the resumption of the pretrial conference.
“The state is just wasting our time,” Magashule told reporters outside court.
The pre-trial conference is set for two days.
“We have been asking for the names of witnesses against me so I can prepare my defence but the state has failed to provide us with any names,” said a relaxed Magashule.
The former Free State premier insisted that on the charges listed in court papers against him and his 15 co-accused, he doesn’t understand what the actual charges against him are.
“I see reports in the media that there are about 70 charges against Magashule and his co-accused, but what are the charges against me and who are the witnesses?” he asked.
“It’s my right to know who the witnesses against me are.”
But National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga dismissed Magashule’s claims saying the state has a strong case against him and has no reason to waste time on the matter.
“We wouldn’t be here if we were wasting his time. We have got charges that we can sustain. Wait for the trial to resume so that everything can be ventilated in court,” Mhaga told The Free Stater as he walked into court.
Asked if the state had a particular witness against Magashule, the NPA spokesperson stated they had witnesses whose names were mentioned when the accused were served with the final indictment in the Magistrates Court last year.
“We have witnesses but we are not going to wrestle in the media with Mr Magashule,” he said.
“There is a list of witnesses that has been supplied to all the accused persons. They were supplied in the Magistrates Court . . .”
In November last year, Magashule expressed confidence that the asbestos corruption case would collapse before going to trial.
He is charged together with 10 other people including businessman Edwin Sodi and former human settlements MEC Olly Mlamleli.
The matter relates to a failed asbestos audit and removal project worth R255 million which was commissioned by the Free State Human Settlements Department around 2014.
According to the state, the department engaged Sodi, his company Blackhead Consulting (Pty) Ltd and joint-venture partner Diamond Hill (Pty) Ltd as a professional resource team for the eradication of asbestos in the Free State.
Diamond Hill was owned by the late Ignatius Mupambani who was murdered in 2017.
Sodi and his joint-venture partner then subcontracted the work to Sello Joseph Radebe and his company Mastertrade 232 (Pty) Ltd at a cost of about R44.2 million.
Radebe and his company further subcontracted the work to Abel Kgotso Manyeki and his company Ori Group (Pty) Ltd at a cost of nearly R21.4 million.
The state alleges that Magashule, Mlamleli and the government officials had a legal duty to comply with the stipulations in the Public Finance Management Act as well as treasury regulations.