DA wants ANC to distance itself from Gauteng whip over R7.2m house 'bribe'

Former Gauteng health MEC Brian Hlongwa’s R7.2 million Bryanston house was paid for in cash by Baoki Consortium, according to a report.

The Mail & Guardian reports that the consortium was awarded a R1.4-billion contract by the Gauteng health department in December 2007, while Hlongwa was MEC.

The paper reported in July 2014 that, according to court papers, it was alleged that the ANC benefited from Hlongwa’s involvement in corruption dating back to 2006.

The NPA had lodged a series of applications at the Johannesburg High Court asking to freeze the assets of certain companies, and a house worth R7.2-million that was alleged to have been built, in part, with funds linked to donors who had done business with the Gauteng health department.

The DA in Gauteng made a call to Premier David Makhura and the ANC to distance themselves from Hlongwa for allegedly accepting the R7.2m 'bribe' until the court case is over.

According to the report, the ANC said: “We are not held accountable by the DA. We have internal processes dealing with the matter,” said ANC Gauteng spokesperson Nkenke Kekana.

Kekana also said that the matter was still before the ANC’s integrity committee.

“The Gauteng ANC cannot do anything until the integrity committee has concluded its report,” he added, as reported by The Star newspaper.