The State Capture Commission of Inquiry will today hear testimony of alleged infighting and corruption among the country’s law enforcement agencies. These include the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) and the South African Police Services (SAPS).
Brigadier Pharas Ncube and Major-General Jan Mabula will be giving testimony while Robert McBride and Major-General Johan Booysen will undergo cross-examination.
On Wednesday, Director of Blackhead Consulting, Edwin Sodi, defended his account to State Capture Commission investigators that he had no idea who could be the persons initialled in a cost of business spreadsheet related to the 2014 Free State asbestos housing project.
The spreadsheet was prepared by Sodi’s partner in the Blackhead-Diamond Hill joint venture which was awarded a R255 million tender to audit asbestos in low cost housing in the province.
Former Free State MEC Mxolisi Dukwana testified at the Commission last year that initials in the document are those of people – including then Free State Premier Ace Magashule and Human Settlements DG, Thabane Zulu – who allegedly received bribes. But Sodi has told the commission in Johannesburg that he doesn’t want to speculate.
“I did not want to speculate on the initials I think Chair you would understand that that would have been a grave mistake because if I speculate on initials and it turns out that the speculation is incorrect. I would have mislead the commission I would have given them incorrect information more so because I was not involved in putting it together so it would have been difficult if it was the full name I would have said definitely this name refers to this person but it was initials.”
Nothing underhanded
Sodi maintains that there was nothing underhanded about the R650 000 he put towards a house where Free State Human Settlements Head of Department Tim Mokhesi currently stays.
Mokhesi was instrumental in ensuring that the province’s business plan was amended to accommodate the 2014 Free State asbestos project that Blackhead together with Diamond Hill were awarded in a R255 million tender. There are claims the tender was riven with corruption and bribes. Sodi says he viewed the property as an investment.
“It was recorded in our books as an investment in our financial books it was recorded there the transfer was made from Liket consulting so it was not concealed at all if this was meant to be some underhanded payment Chair. We wouldn’t have done it the way we did we would not have recorded it in our financial records we wouldn’t have paid and left a paper trail we wouldn’t have done the contracts that we did so it was a perfectly legitimate commercial transaction.”
Proceedings of yesterday’s hearing in the video below:
