The DA has submitted an application under the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) to gain access to the report submitted by justice and constitutional development minister Thembi Simelane to President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Ramaphosa has failed announce what action he intends to take on the basis of the report, which was submitted at his request on September 11 2024. This followed reports that Simelane had taken out a “loan” of R575,600 in 2016 from Gundo Wealth Solutions, the broker who acted on behalf of the collapsed VBS Mutual Bank in soliciting funds from municipalities to deposit funds with the bank, in contravention of the Municipal Finance Management Act.
The act prohibits municipalities from depositing funds in mutual banks.
Simelane was mayor of Polokwane at the time of the loan from the owner of Gundo Wealth Solutions, Ralliom Razwinane. The municipality deposited R349m with VBS Mutual Bank.
While the president continues to delay the matter, the DA has submitted a PAIA application to the Presidency to access the information.
— DA justice spokesperson Glynnis Breytenbach
The minister has insisted the loan was above board and was repaid in full four years later, together with R274,399 in interest.
She has resisted calls to step aside while the investigation into the loan was under way, with critics pointing to the conflict of interest in her overseeing the justice system while it was under investigation.
DA justice spokesperson Glynnis Breytenbach said almost three months later, Ramaphosa is still considering Simelane’s report.
“While the president continues to delay the matter, the DA has submitted a PAIA application to the Presidency to access the information. This is done in the public interest, and to allow the public the right to judge all facts in this matter for themselves,” Breytenbach said.
“Despite receiving the report three months ago, the president has failed to take action or is unable to appreciate the untenable conflict of interest this has created. It cannot be that a minister of justice accused of corruption can continue to oversee the justice system, and more importantly the National Prosecuting Authority, the very body tasked with investigating her.
“The PAIA process seems to be the only way to get the answers SA needs. Every day without action further damages the integrity of our justice system and legal institutions.”
Razwinane is on trial for 13 counts of corruption linked to the commissions paid to the company by VBS Mutual Bank in exchange for securing investments from the Polokwane municipality. He has been debarred from operating in the financial sector for 10 years by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority, which found he had failed to demonstrate honesty and integrity.
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