Magaxa calls for probe into Takatso/SAA deal to be fast-tracked as tense stand-off with Gordhan escalates
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Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) Portfolio Committee chairperson Khaya Magaxa on Wednesday said the committee would fast-track the investigations into the Takatso Consortium 51% takeover of South African Airways (SAA) by the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) and other law enforcement clusters.
He said work that had gone into the matter by Parliamentarians would not go to waste and called for the matter, through the Parliamentary Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Ngcakula up to the Chair of Chairs, to be fast-tracked.
Magaxa told “Business Report”, "Some of the allegations made by the Former Director General (DG) (Kgathatso Tlhakudi) have some merit; to give you an example, it is claimed that the Minister picked Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) as transactional advisor. RMB identified four companies on its shortlist and Harith was not one of them. Later on, RMB left and the DPE did not advertise for another company to do the work.
“The question is after RMB left for reasons we do not understand, the department then went on to select the company itself," Magaxa said.
The call to fast-track the investigations came amidst a tense stand-off with the Minister for the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE), Pravin Gordhan, who on Wednesday said the call for investigations misled the South African public by insinuating impropriety in the strategic equity partnership (SEP) deal that was proposed for SAA.
In a letter in which Gordhan submitted documents – including the update on the Special Equity Partner's process for SAA, as well as the memorandum on the appointment of RMB as transaction adviser, Gordhan cautioned Magaxa against statements last week that investigations would be conducted to "uncover the truth".
Gordhan impressed on Magaxa that he had legally been advised that the documents relating to the terminated SAA/Takatso transaction continue to remain confidential and need to be dealt with in camera, in line with the rules of the National Assembly and Power, Privileges and Immunities Act.
"Be reminded that the principle of separation of powers needs to be adhered to and Parliament should be careful to not enter the realm of the executive, especially on commercial transactions," Gordhan said.
He said the Committee's recommendation of the investigations to the security cluster was that some of the documents submitted had signatures of Tlhakudi, that he is disputing, which needed forensic capacity to execute.
In Gordhan's letter he said that if there was any "untruth" to be "uncovered", why did Parliament allow space to a disgruntled former DG who was found guilty of several charges of misconduct and subsequently dismissed?
"Why has he been given such time and credence? This further reinforces our concern that this is a a political vendetta," he said.
Tlhakudi was dismissed in June last year by Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola following an enquiry into the DG's alleged violation of his employment contract in appointing a security manager at the DPE.
Lamola had been following a complaint that the Public Service Commission received, which had been mandated by President Cyril Ramaphosa, to conduct the inquiry into the allegations that Thlakudi had violated his employment contract.
Tlhakudi said at the time the speed of the announcement and its coincidence with his pending Parliament appearance was timed to weaken his engagement on the matter as he also had a pending appointment at the Bargaining Council.
In a statement on Wednesday, DPE spokesperson Ellis Mnyandu said the department was appalled by political mechanisations by Magaxa in deviating to the terms of the mandate from under Maphisa-Ngqakula.
Mnyandu said, "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.
“When the Speaker instructed the committee to look into a complaint by the former Director-General of the DPE, she was not giving Mr Magaxa any right to act carte blanche and beyond his mandate. It is troubling that a legitimate process has been hijacked for political opportunism and for misleading the South African public,” the DPE said.
BUSINESS REPORT