Minister's U-turn on police HQ deal
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Public Works Minister Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde is ready to go to court to get the R500-million police headquarters leasing deal that her department signed with property mogul Roux Shabangu cancelled.
Mahlangu-Nkabinde made the announcement at a hastily arranged press conference at a Pretoria hotel yesterday afternoon.
"I've made up my mind; I am going to court," she said.
The dramatic about-turn follows a series of exposés in the Sunday Times since August last year about Shabangu and two of his property deals that were allegedly facilitated by national police commissioner Bheki Cele.
The deals are the R500-million 10-year lease for the Middestad building in Pretoria, and a R1.1-billion deal between Shabangu and Public Works for the police's KwaZulu-Natal provincial headquarters in Durban. The Durban deal has lapsed.
Mahlangu-Nkabinde was criticised by Public Protector Thulisile Madonsela in her report on the Pretoria police deal in February.
The Sunday Times this week detailed the contents of a draft of the Public Protector's second report into the lease scandal, titled "Against the Rules Too", which follows an earlier report in which she stated that the Pretoria lease was "invalid".
"Against the Rules Too" is marked "provisional". It was sent to Mahlangu-Nkabinde, Shabangu and Cele, and to President Jacob Zuma, Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa and Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan. They have until Thursday to comment on its content.
According to the Public Protector's report:
- Mahlangu-Nkabinde was guilty of "improper" conduct and failed in "statesmanship" for going ahead with both leases after two legal opinions found them to be invalid;
- Mahlangu-Nkabinde put pressure on her director-general, Siviwe Dongwana, to sign the two leases;
- Cele was guilty of "maladministration" and "unlawful" conduct for driving the R1.1-billion Durban deal;
- The Treasury should consider blacklisting Shabangu's company, Roux Property Fund, for its involvement in "unlawful and irregular procurement";
- Rentals for both buildings were inflated by up to 300%. In Durban alone, floor space worth R78-million was added without justification; and
- A new tender issued for the Durban lease in April, but shelved after the Sunday Times exposed it last month, was allegedly rigged to suit a previous offer by Shabangu.
The Sunday Times reported this week that Public Works director-general Dongwana feared for his and his family's safety and believed that his phone was being tapped. He said he had been pressured into approving the two dodgy police lease deals.
Mahlangu-Nkabinde's predecessor, Geoff Doidge, was axed by Zuma on October 31, soon after he launched ab internal investigation was launched. Doidge had halted the R1.1-billion Durban lease pending the outcome of the investigation and suspended the R500-million Pretoria lease.
Days after Zuma appointed Mahlangu-Nkabinde as Minister of Public Works, on November 1, she reinstated the Pretoria deal with Shabangu.
Yesterday, Mahlangu-Nkabinde said that when the leases were "concluded in July 2010" she was "still the deputy minister of economic development so I could not have applied pressure to anyone".
She said she sought an opinion from the chief state law adviser because she was "not comfortable" with earlier reports she had received as "not all the players were interviewed".
"I asked the chief state law adviser to walk me through what happened ever since Mr Shabangu started communicating with the department. He discovered a number of truths and untruths," she said.
"He said I must seek assistance from the high court and, if the court looks at the contract and says it is invalid and sets it aside, and a new process is opened, I will be very comfortable because that puts all speculation to rest."
A court date has not been set but Mahlangu-Nkabinde said she had "started engaging my legal unit" and court papers would be filed "in due course".
She said she had intended to announce her court action later this week but decided to do so yesterday after the Sunday Times report made it "urgent" for her to do so. She slammed media reports based on the leaked draft as "malicious" and "aimed at defaming and demeaning" the government, and her ministry.
Yesterday, the office of the Public Protector said it would approach the SA National Editor's Forum to complain that the Sunday Times had published findings from a leaked copy of the "Against the Rules Too" report.
The CEO of the Public Protector's office, Themba Mthethwa, said the office was "utterly disgusted" by the leaking of the report and the "emerging trend" of reporting on leaked documents, which "undermines justice, fairness and the integrity of the investigations".
Cele's spokesman, Nonkululeko Mbatha, said yesterday that she ''knew nothing" about Mahlangu-Nkabinde's decision to take the contract with Shabangu to court. - Additional reporting by Retha Grobbelaar
Join the discussion & Debate
Minister's U-turn on police HQ deal
For Commenters Consideration | Please stick to the subject matterCOMMENTS [38]
amaBokoboko
Posted 704 days agoMaaatla ke a Rona.
We the people will hold you all to account for your thieving one day soon.
Biko-Lives
Posted 704 days agoDuzula
stonearch
Sorry but the public clearly does not agree lol! Only the ANC stooges are promoting this. Why don't you or the ANC just take them to court if you don't like what they say? Oh I get it - a court will evaluate both sides of the story neh?
buddi
Any newspaper getting a scoop like this would publish it - it would be criminal not to. This is, after all, public money which is being spent by the government!
SamBlue
v_3
Your are entitled to your opinion, but Steve Biko believed in an open society and was not stupid.
His death was covered up by a similar national-socialist race-obsessed government to the one you support, and was only exposed by the dedication of journalists like Helen Zille. Your support of the gagging legislation is an even bigger insult to his memory than your opinions.
previouslycrackerr
If anything, the media is helping in our struggle for the truth that this country, its processes and its information belongs to EVERY CITIZEN, not just the few elites as appointed by the likes of you.
Heinvan_Rensburg
stonearch
Posted 704 days agogksa
And yet they complain that it is the media touting false information. But does anyone really think, for a moment, that any of these characters would have backed down if they had the right of it, and could prove it? No way in hell. That pretty much proves that, in this case, the Sunday Times was right, and others had been caught with their pants down, and are now just ducking for cover. Zuma didn't need another Shaik.
The media often performs a valuable public service. That said, they are not charity organisations, either, so a healthy civil society and a range of competitors in the market is necessary too.
Biko-Lives
Posted 704 days agostonearch
buddi
The fact that it has found fault with these leases is sufficient proof that it is an independent body - independent of the government that is.
The day any of these ministers that are suspect appear in court, and are found either guilty or not guilty by an independent judge, is the day that I will believe government to be serious about corruption. Till then, I think its just talk.
Biko-Lives
stonearch
-----------------
Who is "they" ? And what do you mean by "gunning" for the Sunday Times?
"The reason for this is because it will cast people in a court of public opinion"
-----------------------------------------
What does "cast people in a court" mean ?
The PP is only tasked to bring the facts to the table and give out recommendations to the president and not pass judgments
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Where do you get this hogwash from? The PP is responsible to the public, hence the name. "Not Presidential" protector or even "ANC Protector", but "Public Protector" capiche? His function is to expose any attempted coverup especially by government agencies, and to protect the individual against governmental abuse. Now that you (hopefully) understand the PP's function maybe you will spout less nonsense?
Busman
If the press keeps revealing these kinds of excessess and frauds it is entirely possible that corruption will ultimately be defeated.
mtshana
Posted 704 days agoAdiosSouthAfrica
Posted 704 days agoA proper court in your eyes would be of course an ANC cadre run Judicary where those that make the rulings have only the basic knowledge of how to use a rubber stamp. And the sober Judge maybe the idiot that rode into the wall drunk.I would love to see your life on the screen. I bet it's just one long story of bad choices and decisions. Shame a black man whose only pride is his ability to mouth off against minorities. Big Boy.
MisterWendal
Posted 704 days agoShe needs to spend some time there to acquant herself with court protocol, as her sorry @rse is going to be hauled in front of the same court next, to answer to the "improper conduct and failed in "statesmanship" for going ahead with both leases after two legal opinions found them to be invalid"!
the_original_MommaCyndi
Posted 704 days agoI don't think the Sunday Times should have leaked the report before it was completed BUT it is very doubtful that anything constructive would happen in this country if it wasn't for the media being vigilant
buddi
the_original_MommaCyndi
Hence the gagging attempt.
If it wasn't for the media, bribery, corruption and general looting would be SOOOOOO much easier
Leretemonnyong
Posted 704 days agoLeretemonnyong
Posted 704 days agoSeanRedmond
SamBlue
Jombitekisi
Posted 704 days agoConradp
Posted 704 days agoWe will see nobody fired cause the Panel Beater is more worried about him been Press & Dent of the Republic of South Africa. Mahlangu-Nkabinde & Bheki Cele is not leadership material they both good Crook cabbage.
Leretemonnyong
Wort
Posted 704 days agoLoggenberg
Posted 704 days agoI guess the state must sue you.
previouslycrackerr
Posted 704 days agoNot so?
Scarface4U
Posted 704 days agoPussygalore
Posted 704 days agofutsek
Posted 704 days agocorrespondent
Posted 704 days agoBroerbald
Posted 704 days agoThis Roux Shabangu would not sit back waiting for the good luck of landing two big leases worth 1,5 billion, without going to the corrupt method of ensuring that this happened. How do you think he worked this out? Anyone thinking for an instant that the minister and this "businessman" weren't in it together, or that the minsiter herself was not getting a huge present, or Zuma for that matter, is an ignorant child.