President Cyril Ramaphosa has denied that his previous company was involved in a tender to build a school in the Free State in 2015. This follows media reports that his former company, the Shanduka Group, got a dubious tender to build a school in that province after criminal charges were allegedly laid against the President at the Sandton Police Station earlier this week.
In a statement, acting Presidential Spokesperson, Tyrone Seale says the newspaper report is not clear on the details of the complaint and that it contains glaring inaccuracies and a clear misrepresentation of facts.
The Presidency says Shanduka committed R100 million to a school in the Free State in 2013.
It added that Shanduka, together with Kagiso Trust, have so far committed R280 million to various schools in the province and that they have never received any benefit from the construction of any school.
President Ramaphosa wishes to place the following on the record:
– Shanduka Group never received a tender for the construction of any schools in the Free State. Shanduka did not operate in the construction industry. The nature of Shanduka’s investments and operations are publicly available.
– President Cyril Ramaphosa was neither a director nor a shareholder in Shanduka Group in 2015, at the time he was alleged to have “persuaded” the provincial department to award the non-existent contract. He exited the business in November 2014.
– The Shanduka Foundation, a non-profit organisation established by President Ramaphosa in 2002, has made substantial contributions to the development of township and rural schools. (The Shanduka Foundation is now the Cyril Ramaphosa Foundation.)
– In 2013 the Shanduka Foundation committed R100 million to a school development project in the Free State alongside Kagiso Trust (which also made a R100 million commitment) and the Free State Department of Education (which made a commitment to match these contributions).
– This project, originally known as the Kagiso Shanduka Trust and now simply as KST, has to date facilitated the contribution of around R280 million from foundations and private sector donors to schools in the Free State.
– Neither President Ramaphosa nor any companies in which he held interests has ever received any benefit from school construction in the Free State or anywhere else in the country. On the contrary, both President Ramaphosa and Shanduka have made substantial financial contributions towards the construction and development of schools.
All of this information is readily available in the public domain.
