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"title": "Ramaphosa’s lack of action on Simelane scandal raises concerns amid South Africa’s corruption crisis",
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"contents": "<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to redeploy Thembi Simelane from the Justice and Constitutional Development portfolio to the portfolio of Human Settlements shows a lack of respect for South Africans and his ambivalence towards corruption.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On 26 August 2024, the scandal broke that Simelane, then minister of justice, received a “loan” of R575,600 from Gundo Wealth Solutions, a company directly linked to the unlawful investments of municipal funds into the now-defunct VBS Mutual Bank. This loan was received during her tenure as the mayor of Polokwane. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Further allegations were reported on 3 December 2024 about her lavish lifestyle, which, according to reports, was well beyond her means, suggesting unexplained and dodgy cash.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Just two days after the initial scandal broke, the president requested a report into the allegations. Despite the initial gusto with which we thought the matter would be handled, the president sat on this report for three months, asking for more time when asked in Parliament.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Only on 3 December 2024 did the president decide to act — moving Simelane to minister of human settlements. All he has done is move her sideways, not out. Nor has he addressed the long wait for her to be removed as minister of justice, and the reputational damage this caused to the justice system. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While time-consuming investigations continue against the minister, the president does not seem to take issue with the fact that a person accused of corruption sits in his Cabinet. Whether she is minister of justice or minister of human settlements, the fact remains that she is accused of corruption and subject to investigation.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The repetitive nature of the issue feels as though we are stuck, failing to escape the deep-seated culture of corruption having no consequences. The situation is so hollow that when she was minister of justice and asked why she was still there, she could only respond with “House Chair, I am here because I am a Member of Parliament. Thank you.” </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Does she now believe that she deserves to be minister of human settlements with the power to oversee critical services like providing housing to millions of South Africans merely because she is a Member of Parliament? Her response is indicative of a culture where allegations are ignored based on political standing. </span>\r\n<h4><b>G20’s anti-corruption initiatives</b></h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The president recently attended the G20 Summit in Brazil, where he was appointed as the chairperson of the G20. The G20 is a high-level intergovernmental forum, encompassing top-level anti-corruption initiatives.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Part of this forum is the Global Debt Roundtable, where states co-chair alongside the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. This group has on several occasions criticised and red-alerted South Africa’s grey listing in relation to the ease with which financial sector crimes tend to occur, without consequence. The irony of this situation is not lost on the South African public.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only is the president failing to take action, but our criminal justice system is failing miserably to prevent and prosecute corruption. We need an independent check on serious corruption and high-level organised crime, especially for the political elite.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Part of the DA’s strategy to enforce accountability for corruption is to establish the Anti-Corruption Commission or Scorpions 2.0. In November 2024, the DA introduced a Private Members Bill to do exactly that.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This bill proposes the establishment of an Anti-Corruption Commission as a Chapter 9 institution, which like all Chapter 9 institutions, would report directly to Parliament, enjoy security of tenure and be free of executive control. The Anti-Corruption Commission would be tasked with supporting and strengthening constitutional democracy in the Republic of South Africa by investigating and prosecuting serious corruption and high-level organised crime.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This body would have many benefits for South Africa in its fight against corruption — if this body already existed, Simelane would have no perceived or actual influence over her investigation and prosecution. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Until such time, Simelane’s continued role as a minister damages the credibility of the government and sows distrust among the public. The indecisiveness of the president, who has explicitly committed to fighting corruption, is especially shocking. The president must address the conflict within his Cabinet.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To better understand the absurdity of the situation, the timeline of events is as follows:</span>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><strong>2014</strong>: Thembi Simelane is appointed mayor of Polokwane.</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>2016</strong>: Gundo Wealth Solutions, on behalf of the Polokwane Municipality, brokers investments with VBS Mutual Bank. Following this, VBS Mutual Bank makes transfers to Gundo Wealth Solutions, owned by corruption-accused Ralliom Razwinane. Money is then transferred from Gundo Wealth Solutions to Simelane, through her company Ricovert as a commercial loan for a coffee shop — a R575,600 kickback for the investment of municipal funds.</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>2018</strong>: VBS Mutual Bank implodes, forensic investigations find that Razwinane was rewarded with kickbacks for being the commissioning agent for various municipalities, and a finding of corruption is made.</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>2024</strong>: Simelane is appointed minister of justice.</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>26 August 2024:</strong> News breaks of the dodgy loan the minister took from VBS.</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>28</strong> <strong>August 2024: </strong>The president requests a report from the minister regarding the money received from VBS Mutual Bank.</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>6 September 2024: </strong>The minister appears before Parliament’s Justice Committee to account for the allegations.</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>11 September 2024:</strong> The president’s office confirms receipt of a report from the minister of justice and constitutional development on her alleged involvement in the VBS Mutual Bank looting scandal.</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>25 September 2024:</strong> Daily Maverick confirms that the justice minister appeared before the ANC’s Integrity Commission — nothing has come of this.</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>30 September 2024:</strong> Reports indicate the “loan agreement” was probably backdated.</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>6 October 2024:</strong> Reports emerge that President Ramaphosa had been aware of the questionable VBS-linked loan received by the minister since at least 2021.</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>17 October 2024:</strong> The president, responding to a Parliamentary question, said he needed more time to consider the report.</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>28 November 2024:</strong> DA submits a Promotion of Access to Information Act application to the presidency for the report received by the president from Simelane on the allegation.</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>3 December 2024:</strong> Further reports allege suspicious and unexplained cash being used to bankroll Simelane’s lifestyle.</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>3 December 2024:</strong> The president announces Simelane’s redeployment to minister of human settlements. <strong>DM</strong></li>\r\n</ul>",
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