THE Democratic Alliance (DA) has formally laid criminal charges against Deputy President Paul Mashatile.
This follows severe allegations of corruption levelled against him, which span almost two decades. DA leader John Steenhuisen opened the case at the Cape Town Police Station on Monday, 12 February.
"These include an intricate web of nepotism and family patronage of which Mashatile is allegedly the ultimate beneficiary, with the most recent scandal being the purchase of a Constantia mansion by Mashatile's son-in-law, Nonkwelo, at a cost of R28,9 million by his company which allegedly still owes the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements R7 million for a failed Alexandria housing project," he said.
He said the DA has also submitted a formal complaint to parliament's Joint Committee on Ethics and Members' Interests for a breach of the members' Code of Conduct by Mashatile, for failure to disclose registrable interests, or for willfully or grossly negligently, providing the Registrar with incorrect or misleading details.
"Mashatile also faces allegations for having misled parliament for failing to properly declare his use of various properties, including an R37 million Waterfall house in Gauteng. In addition to this, Mashatile also breached the Code of Conduct by failing to act in all respects in a manner that is consistent with the integrity of their office or the government," said Steenhuisen.
He said given that the appointment of the deputy president is made solely at the discretion of the president, the DA submitted a dossier of allegations levelled against Mashatile to the Union Buildings for the attention of President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday, 2 February 2024.
He said Ramaphosa has remained mum.
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"It comes as no surprise that President Ramaphosa has, once again, done nothing to act against the corrupt cadres within his government and within his own party. In light of President Ramaphosa's indifference and sheer paralysis, the DA has now taken matters into our own hands to rid our country and its government of the ANC's corruption," said Steenhuisen.
He pointed out that had Ramaphosa instituted lifestyle audits for his cabinet ministers, as promised in his first State of the Nation Address, all of the allegations levelled against Mashatile would have come to light for the requisite action to be taken.
"This entire sordid debacle is proof that President Ramaphosa was never serious about dealing with corruption in his government and within the ANC," he said.
Mashatile's spokesman Vukani Mde said just over a week ago, the DA turned up at the Union Buildings claiming they had some kind of "dossier" to present to the president.
"The Presidency issued a statement affirming that anyone that has genuine evidence of criminal wrongdoing has a right and even a duty to approach the proper authorities to report it. Regardless of what the DA does, there is nothing to add to that statement," he said.
Steenhuisen claimed that the integrity of the South African government was laughable when the country's second in command had such a large cloud of corruption allegations hanging over his head.
Steenhuisen said: "President Ramaphosa can no longer bury his head in the sand and hope it will somehow blow over. There now exists more than sufficient evidence to suggest that Paul Mashatile is and has been involved in egregious corruption during his tenure of various executive positions over the past two decades, and it is now time for him to face the consequences."
National police spokeswoman Brigadier Athlenda Mathe told Daily Sun that she was still waiting for details and would revert.
