ActionSA has filed a criticism with the Public Protector in opposition to Justice Minister Thembi Simelane, who took a mortgage of just about R1 million from an organization implicated within the now-defunct VBS Mutual Financial institution corruption scandal.

In response to a Each day Maverick report, Simelane took a mortgage of R575 600 throughout her tenure as Polokwane municipality mayor, from Gundo Wealth Options. The corrupt funding brokerage is owned by Ralliom Razwinane, who’s at the moment on trial for fraud, corruption, and cash laundering associated to his function in facilitating connections and “investments” between municipalities, together with the Polokwane Municipality, and the now defunct financial institution.

MALEMA ‘IMPLICATES’ JUSTICE MINISTER IN VBS BANK SAGA

In response to the publication VBS awarded Razwinane with kickbacks totalling R24.2 million for being a commissioning agent for varied municipalities and state entities. Investigators discovered these to be corrupt transactions and contraventions of the Municipal Finance Administration Act.

Additional, the publication reported that between September 2016 and Could 2017, Polokwane Municipality made not less than 5 illegal deposits into VBS financial institution, totalling R349-million. Notably, not like different municipalities which misplaced massive quantities when VBS imploded, the Polokwane municipality reportedly retrieved all its cash.

In response, ActionSA caucus chief in Parliament Athol Trollip stated they consider this can be a clear case of an obvious battle of curiosity, with the integrity of the justice system underneath her stewardship at stake.

Trollip stated it’s untenable that the very individual entrusted with making certain justice is upheld in South Africa might herself be compromised. This, in flip, casts a shadow over the Nationwide Prosecuting Authority’s capability to hold out its mandate impartially and with out favour.

“ActionSA has subsequently approached the Public Protector to provoke an pressing investigation into this matter and to probe the potential violation of the Government Members’ Ethics Act. Given the implications for our justice system, we can not afford to miss this difficulty. Furthermore, everybody concerned within the looting of VBS Financial institution have to be prosecuted, no matter their political affiliation.

“Ought to the Public Protector conclude that there’s adequate proof of wrongdoing, ActionSA will write to President Cyril Ramaphosa, requesting the speedy elimination of Thembi Simelane as Justice Minister,” Trollip stated.

DONDO MOGAJANE AMONG THOSE IMPLICATED BY TSHIFHIWA MATODZI

In a witness assertion made underneath oath, former VBS boss Tshifhiwa Matodzi claimed he paid former Treasury director-general Dondo Mogajane a R1 million bribe by way of a conduit in 2017, to get Treasury to again off from VBS.

Authorities had began circling, telling municipalities to cease depositing cash on the now-defunct financial institution.

Matodzi claimed he held a sequence of conferences with Mogajane, the place it was agreed that the previous DG would “intervene” within the VBS-Treasury matter.

DO YOU THINK JUSTICE MINISTER THEMBI SIMELANE WILL STEP ASIDE FROM HER DUTIES?

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