Four ANC MPs implicated in State Capture off the hook after Parliament’s ethics committee finds no breach of code

Fifteen months after the release of the fifth and final instalment of Chief Justice Raymond Zondo’s State Capture Inquiry report, which implicated several high-ranking politicians, Parliament’s Joint Committee on Ethics and Members’ Interests has cleared four senior ANC MPs.  

Among them is Labour and Employment Minister Thulas Nxesi, who was fingered in Part 4 of the commission’s report. He was accused of being among the “perceived politically connected people” who received payments from controversial businessman Edwin Sodi.  

Sodi and his late business partner Ignatius “Igo” Mpambani formed a joint venture that scored the R255-million asbestos removal project in the Free State in 2014.

Sodi’s business, Blackhead Consulting, was also among several companies involved in a similar asbestos project in Gauteng, both of which were a sham.

Read more in Daily Maverick: ‘I like my holy waters,’ boasts Edwin Sodi, winner of R255-million Free State asbestos contract 

In his defence, Nxesi provided the committee with an affidavit stating that the payments were not for his gain but for fundraising purposes, which tallied with Sodi’s explanation of the payments, as he had not provided any goods or services to Blackhead. 

“The member clarified that his name appeared as a reference for the payment but that the payment was not made to him. Rather, the payment was the result of a fund-raising initiative he undertook to raise money to assist two families in financial need,” said the parliamentary committee in a statement released on Tuesday.

“The committee considered the proof of the payments and found that it confirms the version of events as explained by the member. The committee found that the member did not breach the code.” 

The committee also cleared ANC MP Cedric Frolick, who was implicated in Part 3 of Zondo’s report. Frolic was accused of having dodgy dealings with Bosasa.

He is said to have played a critical role in “winning over Mr Vincent Smith, the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services and Justice” for Bosasa’s benefit. In 2020, Smith was criminally charged in relation to corruption allegations related to Bosasa. The case is ongoing. 

Frolick allegedly received from Bosasa a R40,000 monthly payment as well as accommodation at City Lodge OR Tambo from 21 to 22 August 2021, costing R2,744.28.  

Regarding these allegations, the committee said that Frolick’s alleged actions predated its adoption of the Code of Ethical Conduct and Disclosure of Members’ Interests, which could not be applied retrospectively.

The committee also cleared former mineral resources minister and current MP Mosebenzi Zwane. Activist Zackie Achmat submitted a complaint against the MP for an alleged breach of the Code of Conduct relating to Zwane’s involvement with the controversial Gupta family’s Vrede dairy farm matter and called for him to be disqualified from Parliament. 

However, the committee found that the matter fell out of its jurisdiction as Zwane was an MEC in the Free State at the time and not a member of Parliament. 

Another MP who was referred to the committee is Winnie Ngwenya, who was accused of taking money from Bosasa while she was a member of the portfolio committee on correctional services.

At the State Capture Inquiry, the former Bosasa COO Angelo Agrizzi and former correctional services committee chairperson Dennis Bloem testified about Ngwenya. She allegedly took money from Bosasa to act on its behalf in the correctional services committee.

In her defence, Ngwenya, who appeared before the ethics committee on two occasions, denied the allegations against her, which the committee found satisfactory. 

“She indicated that she does not know why Mr Bloem implicated her in the Bosasa matter. She also indicated that she never met Mr Smith at a hotel in Rivonia Road. She also indicated that she does not reside close to the Bosasa offices. The committee accepted the explanation by the Member and found that the Member did not breach the Code,” the committee said.

The findings come a day after the committee found EFF MP and chief whip Floyd Shivambu had breached the code of conduct after failing to declare that he received R180,000 in 2017 from his brother’s company, Sgameka Projects, which was implicated in the VBS bank scandal. DM