Motsoaledi orders wife to halt government business

HEALTH Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has instructed his wife to stop doing business with the department of health in Limpopo - to avoid accusations of a conflict of interest and corruption.

The Sunday Times has established that Motsoaledi told his wife, Thelma Dikeledi, to stop bidding for travel and accommodation business before he took control of the Limpopo department late last year as part of a government crackdown in the province.

Records in the Sunday Times's possession show that in the past the Limpopo health department paid close to R750000 to her company, Reatswelela Travel and Tours, for travel and accommodation services.

The company is co-owned by her sister, Florence Mpyane. The money was paid between July 2008 and November last year, before Motsoaledi took over the department.

Motsoaledi is part of the task team sent to Limpopo after President Jacob Zuma put five of its departments under administration following allegations of graft in December last year.

Motsoaledi said the fact that his wife had done business with the health department in Limpopo would not deter him from his task.

His spokesman, Joe Maila, this week said the minister had taken steps to ensure his wife's business dealings did not create a conflict of interest.

"If all these attempts of involving his wife are meant to intimidate him into silence, it must be clear that it is not going to happen.

"He will continue to make sure that the healthcare system is not ravaged by unscrupulous commercial operators at the expense of proper delivery," he said.

Maila said the minister had declared his business interests and those of his wife to the Limpopo and national governments.

"When the minister took control of the Limpopo department of health he gave an immediate instruction to his wife not to provide quotations ... even when she is asked to do so," Maila said.

He said that when the provincial health department needed travel and accommodation services it obtained quotes from several travel agencies in the province, one of which was Reatswelela Travel and Tours.

Motsoaledi is believed to support Zuma in his bid for re-election as ANC leader and has become a target of those who oppose the president and are aligned with Limpopo premier Cassel Mathale.