The department of correctional services has written to Bosasa, now trading as African Global Operations, informing it of the government's intention to blacklist it from doing business with the state.
The Sunday Times can reveal that correctional services national commissioner Arthur Fraser wrote to Bosasa this week, asking company executives to give reasons why the company should be allowed to continue doing business with the government.
Bosasa's Papa Leshabane confirmed receiving the letter. This comes as the Zondo commission of inquiry into state capture has heard that the company allegedly paid bribes to politicians and officials in order to receive business from the government and to be protected from prosecution.
Insiders claimed this week that Bosasa and its subsidiaries scored close to R8bn from correctional services alone in the past 15 years.
Pressure is also mounting on the state, including law enforcement agencies, to act on revelations from the commission. Yesterday, President Cyril Ramaphosa urged those implicated in evidence before the state capture commission to appear before justice Raymond Zondo.
Fraser is also said to have written to the director-general of the Treasury, informing him of his intention to blacklist Bosasa.
Fraser confirmed yesterday that he had instituted the process against the controversial company.
"It is my fiduciary responsibility to follow up on the recommendations of the Special Investigating Unit [SIU]," Fraser said.
Fraser's decision was prompted by an SIU report that found that there was an improper relationship between Bosasa and the department of correctional services.
"We have taken this decision based on the SIU report … We will also wait for the Zondo commission to be concluded," Fraser said.
Allegations at the Zondo commission of inquiry detailed how Bosasa paid millions in bribes for contracts, extensions of contracts and for protection against prosecution.
The Mail & Guardian calculated that Bosasa raked in more than R1bn from the state.
REPRESENTATIONS
Fraser said he started a process this week to evaluate all big contracts in his department, which include contracts with Bosasa.
"I have put a team in place to look at all big contracts and evaluate whether there are any irregularities," he said.
Justice & correctional services minister Michael Masutha said on Friday that the government is looking at whether it can cancel its contracts with Bosasa.
Treasury director-general Dondo Mogajane said Bosasa will be blacklisted once he receives representations from the company and the department.
"Once the accounting officer makes a decision, we do our checks, make sure the process is fair and then they are blacklisted from doing business with government," Mogajane said.
Once blacklisted, Bosasa and its directors would not be able to do business with any tier of the government, he said.
"As soon as I get [the representations] we will inform the chief procurement officer's office to blacklist them … we won't have to wait," Mogajane said.
Bosasa's business will suffer a huge knock if it is forbidden from doing business with the state as its business model is centred on government tenders.
A previous attempt to blacklist Bosasa in 2013 after the SIU investigation was blocked by former South African Revenue Service commissioner Tom Moyane.
The Zondo commission heard allegations that Moyane was one of the officials who received bribes from the company.
The commission has also been told that Bosasa allegedly paid bribes to former president Jacob Zuma and suspended senior National Prosecuting Authority officials Nomgcobo Jiba and Lawrence Mrwebi.
Former Bosasa COO Angelo Agrizzi told the commission that former correctional services commissioner Linda Mti and former ANC MP Vincent Smith were also on the company payroll.
'COME FORWARD'
This week, Zuma insisted that he had not been implicated at the commission, telling Africa News 24-7 that he was being used as a scapegoat for all the wrongdoing that took place under his nine-year term in office.
Meanwhile, Ramaphosa told a rally in Kimberley yesterday that all those implicated must appear before the commission.
"Those amongst us that have been found to have been involved in wrongdoing must come forward themselves and be accountable for what they may have done," he said.
Ramaphosa said the country cannot go back to the kind of behaviour revealed at the various commissions.
"We want to truly change our ways," he said...