GAUTENG businessman Edwin Sodi blames the Zondo Commission for making people think he got government tenders because he donated to the ANC.
Evidence leader Paul Pretorius told the commission today the party benefited from Sodi’s deals. “The ruling party benefits from these as it did from all the work you did. Whether there’s a link or not, it’s a matter of further investigation.”
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Sodi, who owns Blackhead Consulting, said he grew up supporting the ANC and would continue to support it wherever he could. “I don’t see that as strange or corrupt. I don’t think there’s any crime in one supporting a party of his choice. The fact that a lot of work I get is from government. . . I find that a bit overreaching to create a link between my donations to the ANC and the work we get.” He believed the opportunities that especially young black people had were created by the ruling party.
Pretorius was going through payments Sodi made to the ANC and its leaders, including R371 000 paid to ANC treasurer-general Paul Mashatile. Sodi said that was a donation to the party and not to Mashatile personally.
Another payment flagged was R45 000 paid to Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi. Sodi said R15 000 of it was paid to a school for underprivileged children and R30 000 for their accommodation. “From time to time we get requests to assist with donations. It could be for a venue, or salaries of ANC staff. Different people would approach me and where I’m able to assist, I will.”
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Sodi said another ANC leader he helped over time as a close friend was deputy state security minister Zizi Kodwa.
“Zizi is a friend I have known for years. The R170 000 payment was made as a friend.”
Blackhead, which won the Free State’s controversial R255-million asbestos tender in 2014 had a turnover of R1billion both in 2014 and 2015. Sodi said that didn’t mean all that money came to his company. “I don’t want people thinking this guy made over a billion rand. The bulk of it is paid to specialists. It is never sitting with us,” he said.
