Ace Magashule says the ongoing asbestos corruption case in the Free State High Court will not deter him from contesting for key positions at the ANC conference in December because he feels the state is deliberately delaying the case in order to keep him out of the running.
Magashule, who is currently suspended from his position as the party’s secretary-general, said this while addressing journalists on Friday after the pre-trial conference for the R255-million asbestos corruption case was postponed to September 23.
“Court or no court, I was elected by the branches of the ANC, and once nominated, I will actually stand,” said Magashule.
“This case is being deliberately postponed so that I don’t participate in the elections of the ANC in December,” he added.
“It’s time for the ANC branches throughout South Africa to understand the agenda of state capture.
“We are not the ones captured. There is a bigger picture here. The intention is to destroy the ANC . . .”
Earlier, a frustrated Magashule told the High Court – after prosecutor Advocate Johan De Nysschen asked for a postponement – that he didn’t understand the reason for the postponement because the state has maintained from the beginning that it had a strong case and was ready for trial.
He described the case as politically motivated as he is now painted as corrupt and cannot participate in party activities.
He said he has been told the case should have been dealt with last year but it keeps getting postponed and yet the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is accusing them of delaying the case.
The suspended secretary-general told journalists: “I will not be destroyed by the media . . . not all of you (journalists).
“I will not be destroyed by the NPA. There are those who are actually bought to narrate a particular story . . . It is time for us to stand up and fight for our rights.
“I am saying now to ANC structures throughout the country that your processes are being rigged and you are keeping quiet.
“It is time . . . and those who don’t want the ANC are killing it slowly while we fold our arms.”
And in what seemed like a hint that those behind his arrest were in fact corrupt themselves, Magashule said no solid evidence has been put before him in the asbestos case yet some politicians who got government contracts irregularly in the Free State were walking free.
“I have not stolen a cent. No money has been found with me. People have done businesses here in the Free State, including some politicians at national level who got tenders (worth more than R800-million without following the tendering processes,” he said.
Magashule maintained that the NPA doesn’t have any evidence against him, adding that even Chief Justice Raymond Zondo who headed the state capture inquiry found nothing on him in relation to the asbestos corruption case.
“It is time now to reclaim and ensure that we work hard. Court or no court, once I am nominated, I will stand in that national conference in December,” he said.
“From February 2020, the NPA has been saying it wants a speedy trial and we all said if we have done anything wrong, we want to be in the box.”
The other accused in the matter include: Free State Human Settlements Department officials Nthimotse Mokhesi (head of the department) and Mahlomola John Matlakala (supply chain management director); Johannesburg businessman and owner of Blackhead Consulting (Pty), Pheagane Edwin Sodi; Fourways businessman Sello Joseph Radebe; Pretoria businessman Abel Kgotso Manyeki; former director-general at the National Department of Human Settlements, Thabane Wiseman Zulu; and former Free State MEC for Human Settlements and former Mangaung mayor Sarah Matawana Mlamleli.
The matter relates to a failed asbestos audit and removal project 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 province.
Diamond Hill was owned by the late Ignatius Mupambani who was murdered in 2017.
The joint venture was expected to assess and remove asbestos roofs and/or housing as they pose a health hazard to people but the work was never done.
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, former human settlements MEC Olly Mlamleli and government officials had a legal duty to comply with the stipulations in the Public Finance Management Act as well as treasury regulations in the awarding and implementation of the contract.
The state further alleges that in August 2015, Magashule corruptly accepted gratification of R53 550, paid on his request towards the tuition fees of the daughter of a then acting judge from Mpambani.
It is further alleged that in June 2015, Magashule accepted payment of R 470 000, paid on his request to M–TAG Systems for the acquisition of 200 Electronic tablets from Mpambani.
Furthermore, it is alleged that in June 2015 Magashule accepted a payment of R30 000, paid on his request to SWC Nkate from Mpambani. Between November 2015 and January 2016, a payment of R 250 000, on his request, was made by Mpambani to Astra Travel towards travel expenses of an ANC delegation to Cuba.
Magashule is also accused of failing to report corrupt transactions in contravention of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act 12 of 2004. – Staff Reporter