Malema paid R2m cash for House

2011-07-31

ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema paid more than R2m in cash to buy a luxury house in Sandton.

In an exclusive interview with City Press, the previous owner of the R3.6m house revealed that Malema:

» First rented the house at R18 000 a month and paid the rent for a full year up front;

» Paid a cash deposit of R360 000 on the property; and

» Settled the outstanding amount of more than R1.7m on the R3.6m – after an Absa bond of R1.5m paid out – in “two or three” cash deposits into his account shortly after the sale went through.

Malema previously claimed that the house was fully bonded by Absa.
Millionaire lifestyle

This poses further questions about the source of Malema’s money, which funds his millionaire lifestyle.

To fund his lifestyle, an actuary calculated this week that Malema would have to earn about R123 000 a month.

City Press asked the actuary to estimate what monthly salary Malema would have had to earn to fund a moderate lifestyle, his two houses - in Sandown and Polokwane - and payments on his Mercedes-Benz C63.

The R123 000 puts Malema in the top 1.1% of earners in the country who receive an income of more than R1.2m a year.

Malema’s only official income is from the ANC, rumoured to be R50 000 a month or R600 000 a year.

This would only be enough to fund half of his lifestyle expenses, according to the actuary’s estimates.

Few cash buyers

Property economist Erwin Rode said on Saturday that he did not have statistics of South Africans who bought properties for cash compared with those who are bonded, but added that there were very few cash buyers.

“If I have to guess, I would say it is not more than 10% of buyers who pay cash for houses.

“Generally, a person who can put down R1.7m for a property is either a high-income earner or is close to retirement - typically people who are over 50 years old or earn in the top brackets.
It is very difficult for the man in the street to accumulate R1.7m after income tax.”

Malema has consistently labelled himself as “poor” and last year said he lives on “hand-outs”.

Confirmation of the cash transactions by the former owner of Malema’s Sandown house, Ken Hollingsworth, also undermines Malema’s public claims that the house is fully bonded by Absa.

Won't respond

At a press conference two weeks ago, Malema said: “That house you (the media) always make a noise about in Sandton ... it’s owned by Absa.
“And if I fail to pay it, for sure, Maria Ramos (Absa group chief executive) would be very happy she’s taking a house from a man who is leading a nationalisation campaign, because she does not want nationalisation.”

The Absa bond of R1.5m on the house only covers 42% of the total purchase price. The rest, according to Hollingsworth, was settled in cash paid into his bank account.
Malema this week failed to respond to questions about the purchase of the house, which is currently being demolished and rebuilt.

Revelations about more cash transactions followed after City Press revealed the existence of the Ratanang Family Trust last week, a vehicle allegedly used by Malema to receive cash bribes from contractors after facilitating government work for them.
Paid up front

A businessman who claims to have deposited R200 000 into the trust’s account told City Press the youth leader allegedly used the trust to receive money from politicians, companies, mayors, contractors and municipal managers in exchange for him facilitating deals and pushing certain political agendas.

On Thursday Malema told a public gathering in Queenstown that businessmen deposited money into the trust for him to distribute to a range of charities.

Malema failed to list these charities and the amounts allegedly paid to them.

According to Hollingsworth, Malema rented his Sandown house from May 2009 for R18 000 a month.

“He paid a deposit of two months’ rent (R36 000) and after that, the full balance (R180 000) was paid up front.”
Shortly after he moved into the property, Malema requested that he could make security renovations to the house, which Hollingsworth approved.

Balance paid in cash

In mid-2009, while visiting Cape Town, Malema contacted Hollingsworth and asked him to attend a meeting at the Twelve Apostles Hotel.

“Malema said he wanted to make an offer to buy the house.”

Hollingsworth didn’t want to sell the house at the time, but a few months later, he informed his estate agent that he was ready to sell.

“Malema paid a 10% deposit, which was R360 000, after the (purchase) documents were signed. He had an Absa bond for R1.5 million. The balance was paid in cash deposits into my account,” Hollingsworth said.

He couldn’t recall the origin of the payments and said he received the balance of about R1.7m in “two or three tranches”.

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Malema-paid-R2m-cash-for-house-20110731

ANC Youth league's childish mischief

31 July, 2011

Earlier this week the ANC Youth League sent out a statement alerting the media to its president Julius Malema's visit to the Eastern Cape.

The purpose of the visit, the bold headline said, would be "to attend the court hearing of a white man who shot an ordinary African gentleman".

The body of the statement told us that Malema would attend "the bail application hearing of a white man who shot an innocent defenceless gentleman". It further stated that Siyabonga Ndabe had been shot by his "white neighbour" and remained in a critical condition in hospital.

That was three angry references to whites in a short two-paragraph statement.

Malema did indeed turn up at the bail application with a singing entourage of youth league supporters. When he addressed them outside court, he used the opportunity to slam the "willing buyer, willing seller" model of land reform, saying whites should "pay for making us slaves".

"We must punish them. And now they must pay. If we don't, we are paying them for calling us kaffirs ...

"They must appreciate the fact that we have forgiven them, but must know we will never forget," Malema thundered.

Earlier in the week, the youth league had accused agents of "white supremacy" of being behind recent corruption allegations against Malema.

Extreme anti-white rhetoric has become a recurrent theme in youth league speech in the past year or so. It reached a crescendo in the run-up to the elections when Malema labelled whites as criminals who "must be treated as such".

Now this talk is coming from an organisation which is a key component of the ANC, a party which has for nearly 100 years championed the principle of non-racialism. Not even black consciousness and Africanist parties would dare mouth such crass racism. They simply do not preach anti-whiteness.

Yet the ANC, the standard bearer of non-racialism, tolerates this within its ranks.

There are always the predictable defences. They range from the claim that these utterances should not be taken seriously because it is only the youth league and not the mother body that is making them.

This argument goes on to say that youngsters are expected to say outrageous things and they will become rational with age.

There are three fundamental flaws in this argument.

The main one is that this is not just any bunch of youngsters. The leaders of the ANC Youth League are hugely influential and their message carries through society.

If they were peripheral players, why would the league's nationalisation drive be causing such havoc within the ANC's policy-making machinery, the government and the mining sector domestically and internationally? If it was not for the youth league, we may not have had the regime change that we saw in Polokwane in 2007.

The second one is that his rhetoric undoes the gains we have made in creating a non-racial society. As this column has stated previously, Malema and the youth league's racial rhetoric have the same polarising effect as the antics of the prehistoric creatures who call themselves AfriForum.

The third and most critical flaw is that because the league's voice is powerful, it has the potential to stoke fires in the tinderbox that is our unequal society.

There are angry, restless youths roaming the streets of our country with hopelessness written on their foreheads. The more you drum it into their consciousness that a certain racial group is responsible for their miserable state of affairs the more you increase chances of racial enmity. It is anyone's guess what the consequences of this will be.

Like all demagogues, Malema and his comrades play on very real concerns. The legacy of apartheid is still with us and it is most stark in the racially skewed distribution of wealth.

Corporate South Africa has been a half-hearted and cynical implementer of legislated employment equity and empowerment policies. And as long as the face of wealth is largely pale, you are bound to get questions about the value of political power.

Although we have done reasonably well in forging a sense of nationhood, there are still unacceptable levels of racism in our everyday lives - both overt and covert. Many farmers still treat their workers like medieval serfs.

The ground is therefore lush and welcoming for a demagogue to plant hatred.

If this nation - and the party that leads it - is still committed to the non-racialism project, we cannot ignore the caustic acid spewing from Malema's mouth. The ANC leadership should be whipping the youth league into line on the principle of non-racialism. That is not an area in which the league can claim autonomy and independence of thought.

The ANC cannot afford to let one of its own organs take the country on a backward and destructive route.

http://www.timeslive.co.za/opinion/columnists/2011/07/31/anc-youth-league-s-childish-mischief

Mining Tycoons Back Malema

23rd September 2010

Mining giants Bridgette Radebe and Minister Tokyo Sexwale have thrown their weight behind the nationalisation of the country’s mineral resources, saying the time has come for the state to reclaim its rightful share.

In a closed-door session on economic transformation at the ANC’s national general council yesterday, the two heavyweights argued that the days of monopoly ownership of the country’s mines had come to an end.

“It doesn’t matter how we skin this cat, but we have to skin it,” Radebe, who is president of the South African Mining Development Association, told The Mercury.

“The problem is the capitalists’ mining model, which says: take a piece of land, explore, exploit, extract, export, leave ghost towns and go overseas,” said the woman who has been in mining operations for the past 23 years. She is billionaire Patrice Motsepe’s sister and wife of Justice Minister Jeff Radebe.

“When we created a new South Africa, 83% of the resources were owned by the minority. Now 91% is owned by the monopolies. And I ask myself, as a committed economic activist, is this the South Africa we fought for? We are sliding backwards. Some fundamental decisions have to be made.”

What she proposed to the ANC mid-term meeting yesterday was a multi-faceted approach to claw back ownership.

“We can have a public-private partnership,” like Botswana has entered into with De Beers and in which both parties have a 50:50 share under the banner Debswana, fuelling “70% of the country’s gross domestic product”.

“We can have 100% state ownership,” she added, while her third proposal would see ailing BEE firms, “who have become more of a burden to the mining companies” sell their shares to government.

“I don’t like using the word nationalisation because people don’t listen,” she said. “I’m saying let’s state-own, control and manage.”

She points to the example of the United States where President Barack Obama recently provided a financial cushion for the banks.

“He bought out those banks. What was that? Nationalisation? He calls it a bail-out,” she said.

Human Settlements Minister Sexwale also pushed for nationalisation, but through a state-owned mining company.

While he endorsed this form of nationalisation, he urged the ruling party to proceed with “caution” as history was littered with examples of nationalisation gone awry.

He also appealed for a “balanced approach” which was both practical and realistic to avoid South Africa proceeding down a path that would be detrimental for the country’s economy. The minister also called for a detailed study that would outline the full extent of possible future state ownership.

Radebe told yesterday’s meeting: “Begin with me. I have mines. You can take them. I’m not looking for money.” However, she was quick to add that her offer was not to be interpreted as a precedent for mine grabs.

“What I am saying is I am willing. That’s all. We don’t want expropriation. We want a situation that works for everyone and this works for me.”

The endorsement for what is potentially a costly move comes at a time when the ANC-led government is already sinking under the weight of added costs to the public purse, with an enlarged cabinet under President Jacob Zuma, a recession that has cut jobs and income tax revenue accordingly, while calls earlier this week for a multibillion-rand public health system will only add to the financial burden.

However, Radebe insists the money required to buy into or buy out mines can be found through mining royalties. She was also confident that the country had the expertise that was required to efficiently run hi-tech underground operations, saying that like the big mining houses do, the South African government could contract out management of the mines to experienced firms.

Their support for nationalisation comes at a time when ANC Youth League president Julius Malema is sorely in need of a political dig-out.

Yet Radebe was quick to point out that this was not about personalities.

“It’s not about Julius and it’s not about Bridgette. It’s about what is going to make a fundamental change to the country,” she said.

However, not everyone was as warm to the idea as Radebe, Sexwale or the majority of delegates who The Mercury understands roundly backed a move to nationalise.

Minister Trevor Manuel, who was the rapporteur of the session, had his knuckles wrapped by ANCYL members when they argued he wasn’t interpreting the message from the floor correctly. But his office downplayed the incident, saying there were noises from “certain individuals” but it was no more than that.

http://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/mining-tycoons-back-malema-1.681141

Another Malema Mansion

July 31 2011

The mansion of Julius Malema's grandmother in Seshego which is being renovated for the second time is being built at the same time as the youth leader's apparent R16 million mansion in Sandton, north of Joburg.

As Julius Malema struggles to explain his wealth, his grandmother’s house is being upgraded into a double-storey mansion in Limpopo.

He has, however, denied financing the structure in his hometown of Masakaneng, Seshego, outside Polokwane.

Malema on Saturday said his grandmother – Sarah – has nine children and it was they who were building the house for her.

“That woman has nine kids, all of them (are employed). That is not my house. Her children are building that house for her.

“But even if it was me… building it, there was nothing wrong. Stop undermining that woman,” Malema said.

The Sunday Independent has seen the double-storey mansion.

An apartheid matchbox house in which Malema was raised was razed, making way for the construction of the new house.

The Seshego house – which is being renovated for the second time – was being built at the same time as Malema’s apparent R16 million mansion in Sandown, north of Joburg.

He, as in Seshego, flattened his previous R3.6m property to build it anew.

Malema owns three properties – the Sandton mansion, another one in Polokwane and a piece of land he allegedly bought for cash.

Since City Press revealed that he was using his trust fund to allegedly accept bribes, Malema has been under severe criticism – but the ANC in Limpopo and his league are firmly behind him.

His allies in the provincial ANC are desperately searching for the businessman who revealed that the ANC Youth League leader is amassing his wealth through kickbacks.

The Sunday Independent has also learnt that a concerted effort was this week made to find and identify the person who told the City Press that he allegedly deposited R200 000 into the Ratanang Trust Fund.

A source close to Malema’s circle, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the businessman is the only person that “could bring down” the league president.

ANC spokesman David Masondo said the Limpopo ANC was calling for the arrest of the businessman because he had implicated himself in alleging that he had paid a bribe to Malema.

Masondo said Limpopo ANC’s provincial general council, a mid-term gathering since the last conference, was likely to pronounce its support for Malema.

“There is nothing wrong he has done,” said Masondo, who is the province’s finance MEC.

Without mentioning names, Masondo implied that Malema was being victimised for being critical of the ANC leadership and agitating for changes.

“There is a possible replay in the processes leading towards Polokwane conference in which baseless allegations against those who hold different views towards conference are levelled. There is also a possible usage of state institutions to fight internal leadership battles within the ANC,” he said.

The ANC in Limpopo is pushing to hold its provincial conference in December.

If the conference is held in December and Malema’s allies win, this will buttress his power base ahead of the ANC’s national conference next year.

Like Zuma before the 2007 conference, his supporters are exploiting allegations of corruption to depict him as a victim of a political conspiracy. This has seen his allies coming strongly for his defence.

They include the ANC in the North West and Limpopo, the youth league and the Limpopo Women’s League.

Referring to Malema as “our beloved son from Limpopo”, the women’s league said it remained “in our unwavering support for the ANCYL president and the economic programme the ANCYL represents”.

ANC North West secretary Kabelo Mataboge said the media, opposition parties and some state security organs had colluded to “attack” Malema in the same way they did with Zuma before he became president.

“The attack on Malema is a political conspiracy. It is not in any way different to what Zuma suffered before he became president. We have observed how the state can disown one of its own in favour of fashionable neo-liberal tendencies.”

Mataboge, who is seen as a Malema ally, said there was no basis to charge Malema with fraud and corruption.

Masondo, like Mataboge, said the party in his province was behind Malema as he was being victimised to weaken Limpopo and the youth league towards the party’s Mangaung conference.

“The campaign is basically to delegitimise the ANCYL and the ANC in Limpopo in the policy and leadership debates towards the national conference,” he said.

This weekend, Malema fought back at the youth league’s first national executive committee (NEC) meeting in Boksburg, dismissing as false allegations that he was using a trust fund as a conduit to receive bribes.

“He pleaded innocence on the issue of the trust,” an NEC member who attended the meeting said.

Another league NEC member said in his opening remarks that Malema had confirmed that he started the fund in 2008 but did not understand the fuss around it.

“He said he does not understand the noise about the trust fund because he did set it up in 2008 and it was doing business.

“People who accuse him of wrongdoing must prove that he is corrupt,” the member said.

But another NEC member said the allegations were a “serious setback” for Malema.

“This is definitely a setback for Julius, more particularly because it goes to the heart of his personal life. No one can dispute that this thing has hit him hard, but he will overcome it,” another NEC member said.

ANCYL spokesman Floyd Shivambu said on Saturday the meeting was closed to the media and did not respond to a request for comment

http://www.iol.co.za/sundayindependent/another-malema-mansion-1.1108951

R10-Million man

30 July, 2011

Siyabonga Gama

Siyabonga Gama, the CE of Transnet Freight Rail, was paid R10-million in salary, bonuses and benefits during his wrangling with the transport parastatal.

Gama was suspended in September 2009, fired in June last year and reinstated this February. He got R10-million without doing any work.

In the 2010 annual report, for the year to March last year, when Gama worked only six months due to his suspension, he got R4.06-million.

That was only marginally less than the R4.1-million Transnet acting CEO Chris Wells got.

Details of Gama's latest package are contained in Transnet's annual report for financial 2011, which public enterprises minister Malusi Gigaba tabled in parliament on Thursday.

The report shows that Gama - who was suspended for eight months from his position as chief executive of Transnet's freight-rail division in September 2009 before being dismissed in June last year - earned more than any other Transnet executive, including Wells, who acted as the state-owned enterprise's chief executive officer during the period in question.

Gama had been dismissed after a prolonged saga that involved the awarding of a lucrative security tender to GNS, a company linked to ANC heavyweight and former communications minister Siphiwe Nyanda.

Siphiwe Nyanda

Siphiwe Nyanda was the Minister of Communications of the Republic of South Africa from 10 May 2009 to 31 October 2010.

General Siphiwe Nyanda SSA SBS CSL DMG MMS MMM (born 1950) is a South African politician, appointed minister of communications in 2009.

He was a South African military commander. He joined Umkhonto weSizwe (MK), the military wing of the African National Congress, in 1974, and served as a field commander during the liberation struggle against the South African government in the 1980s. He was appointed MK Chief of Staff in 1992, and served on the Transitional Executive Council which oversaw the change of government in 1994.

Maj Gen Nyanda transferred to the South African National Defence Force, into which MK was incorporated in 1994, and served successively as Chief of Defence Force Staff (1994-1996), General Officer Commanding Gauteng Command (1996-1997), Deputy Chief of the SANDF (1997-1998), and Chief of the SANDF (1998-2005).

According to the annual report, Gama took home a salary of R8.7-million, R760000 in post-retirement benefits and a further R622000 in other payments and contributions.

Wells earned R4.5-million in salaries and benefits in 2011, less than half the amount Gama pocketed.

Gama was reinstated to his job at Transnet in February this year after board chairman Mafika Mkhwanazi intervened in his running boardroom battles with the previous leadership, which started when former CEO Maria Ramos was still at the helm.

Gama, who is politically well connected, had been tipped for the top job following Ramos's departure, but questions were then raised about his conduct regarding the awarding of the contract to GNS.

Gama was dismissed following an internal disciplinary hearing which found he had acted irregularly in the awarding of an R18.9-million tender to Nyanda's security company.

However, his dismissal was overturned when the Mkhwanazi board decided to reinstate him.

Transnet spokesman Mboniso Sigonyela said on Friday that there was nothing untoward about Gama's multimillion-rand package.

Sigonyela said Transnet was obliged to pay all the monies that were due to Gama, which were backdated to the time of his dismissal, in terms of the reinstatement agreement entered into by the two parties in February.

http://www.businesslive.co.za/southafrica/sa_companies/2011/07/30/r10-million-man

"It was agreed that he be reinstated with full pay. The remuneration is in terms of the reinstatement agreement which was reached at the level of the board because there was a reversal of dismissal," said Sigonyela.

Themba Langa, Gama's lawyer, declined to comment, saying his client's remuneration details were supposed to remain confidential as part of the reinstatement agreement entered into by Gama and Transnet.

A source close to Gama said it was "mischievous" that details of his financial settlement with the company were being thrown into the public domain.

"This is clearly being done to embarrass him," said the insider, who asked to remain anonymous.

News of Gama's remuneration package has angered labour federation Cosatu, which was opposed to his reinstatement.

Spokesman Patrick Craven said: "Cosatu is shocked at the revelation that somebody, who in our view should not have been reinstated, given the findings of negligence against him, should now be earning such a massive salary as a reward."

Gama, who is known to have close ties with ANC heavyweights, was one of the frontrunners for the position of Transnet CEO, but incumbent Brian Molefe beat him to the job.

During his fights with the ousted Transnet board and executive, Gama was supported publicly by Justice Minister Jeff Radebe and Nyanda.

Hawks Probe Malema Trust Fund Records

31 July, 2011

While embattled ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema remains defiant about his questionable wealth, the Hawks are forging ahead with an investigation into his lifestyle.

The Sunday Times has established that the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations has approached banks and cellphone companies to request the youth leader's records.

This is part of the preliminary investigation, handled by Hawks commercial crime head Hans Meiring, to determine whether Malema has a case to answer.

Hawks spokesman McIntosh Polela would not comment on whether the unit had requested Malema's banking and cellphone records.

He said: "We are still trying to obtain information which will help us determine whether or not to continue with the investigation."

The ANC seems to be digging its heels in on calls by alliance partner Cosatu for the ruling party's ethics committee to probe the allegations against Malema.

Malema yesterday said the Hawks never contacted him.

ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe said the party would not be dictated to:

"I don't think ... people should stand on top of mountains when (allegations) emerge and instruct the ANC what to do. We are not going to get into the space where everybody howls .... internal processes of the ANC are not for public consumption."

The Hawks probe comes after lobby group Afriforum laid a charge of corruption against Malema, following reports that he allegedly used the Ratanang Family Trust to receive payments from business people seeking to buy influence.
Malema appeared unfazed by the controversy, telling a crowd in Queenstown in the Eastern Cape on Thursday that he had set up the trust for charitable causes.

"This trust they are talking about is a trust that continues to help the poorest of the poor. That trust has built churches ... houses for the poor. That trust has taken so many kids to school and that trust will continue to do that," Malema was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile Malema and his allies are consolidating their power in his home province of Limpopo amid a push for an elective ANC provincial conference to be brought forward.

Today the ANC in Limpopo will hold a provincial general council at which it is expected to decide to hold the conference in December.

This is seen as part of a strategy by the ANC grouping aligned to Malema ally, premier and ANC provincial chairman Cassel Mathale to eliminate their opponents ahead of the ruling party's 2012 conference. The conference is scheduled to be held in June next year.

Mathale's opponents want his leadership disbanded amid allegation of corruption and Malema's perceived influence over the provincial government.

The anti-Mathale grouping is understood to include provincial secretary Joe Maswanganyi and Joe Phaahla, the Deputy Minister Arts and Culture. Mathale's group wants Maswanganyi replaced by former SACP provincial secretary Soviet Lekganyane.

http://www.timeslive.co.za/politics/2011/07/31/hawks-ask-for-malema-records-in-trust-fund-probe

ANC Owes Millions

31 July, 2011

The University of Limpopo has obtained a default judgment against the African National Congress after the party's failure to settle a multimillion-rand debt from its historic Polokwane conference.

The party owes the university almost R6-million for the use of its premises during the conference in December 2007.

The Limpopo conference resulted in a fierce battle amid former president Thabo Mbeki's bid to seek a third term as ANC president.

Jacob Zuma, the then deputy president of the party - who had been fired in 2005 following allegations of corruption - clinched the leadership and Mbeki was toppled as president of the country the following year.

The money owed to the university was due to be paid immediately after the conference, but after repeated attempts to obtain payment, the institution resorted to legal action.

This week, the Sunday Times established that a warrant of execution issued by the High Court in Johannesburg was served at the party's headquarters, Luthuli House.

Charles Shapiro, the university's legal counsel, confirmed that the ANC had been served with the order.

''We are trying to resolve the matter. I am hoping the ANC is going to pay," he said.

University spokesman Kgalema Mohuba said: ''This is a matter between the ANC and the university. It would be irresponsible to involve the media. We are bound by the confidentiality clause of the contract entered into between parties, and I would urge you to also respect that."

ANC spokesman Jackson Mthembu would not be drawn on the details, saying the matter was between the party and the university.

http://www.timeslive.co.za/politics/2011/07/31/anc-owes-millions-for-polokwane

Hawks reveal Arms deal bombshell

 31 July, 2011

Gripen jet fighter over the Union Buildings.
Image by: http://www.gripen.com/

The Hawks have taken the first step towards re-opening the multibillion-rand arms deal probe - which could expose those who took bribes to prosecution.

The head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations, Anwar Dramat, wrote to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) on Wednesday informing it of the Hawks' intention to speak to European investigators to establish whether or not criminal charges should be brought against any South Africans.

The Hawks controversially dropped the probe into the arms deal in September last year, arguing that prospects of successful prosecutions were slim.

In a letter to Scopa chairman Themba Godi, Dramat says the Hawks are following up on last month's admission by Swedish defence group Saab that its former British partner, BAE Systems, paid R24-million in bribes to secure a South African contract for 26 JAS Gripen fighter jets. All told, BAE systems spent R1-billion on what it called "commissions" in the arms deal.

Dramat writes : "I have already instructed two officials ... to approach the relevant authorities in both Sweden (National Anti-Corruption Unit) and the UK (Serious Fraud Office). Subject to approval by these authorities, (we) will assess the available information with a view to determine whether there is information which points to crime/s in South Africa ... whether it could be converted into relevant evidence by means of formal mutual legal assistance processes. It is also important to determine from the mentioned authorities what their investigations have revealed and whether the information obtained by them can be shared with the (Hawks)."

He could not predict how long the investigation might take.

Godi confirmed receiving Dramat's letter, saying: "It's a brave and correct decision ... unless justice is being done and is seen as being done on this matter, it's going to continue to cast a cold shadow over the political landscape of the country."

DA spokesman on defence David Maynier welcomed the development, saying: "The Hawks have effectively re-opened the investigation into the arms deal."

Despite several attempts, the Presidency yesterday failed to comment on the development.

Investigations by the UK Serious Fraud Office into BAE's dealings revealed that the arms manufacturer's R1-billion in "commissions" in the South African deal dated back to 1992.

They claimed that among the beneficiaries was FTNSA Consulting, a company linked to former First National Bank chairman Basil Hersov.

Businessman Fana Hlongwane, a one-time adviser of former minister of defence Joe Modise, allegedly received handsome "commissions" amounting to millions from BAE. Hlongwane also worked as a consultant for the arms manufacturer.

News of the Hawks' move came as a court battle continued in the High Court in Pretoria over the financial dealings of prominent South Africans - including some connected to the arms deal - via Ansbacher Bank.

The Sunday Times can reveal that senior ANC national executive committee member and former spy boss Billy Masetlha met former FirstRand CEO Paul Harris in 2009 to try to broker an out-of-court settlement in a 10-year-old case involving FirstRand and the International Tax Law Institute (ITLI).

ITLI founder, international tax guru Barry Spitz, wants FirstRand to open Ansbacher's books on about 500 of its prestigious clients, including Hersov. If this happens, South Africa could find out how much and whether senior ANC leaders received payments related to the arms deal.

The meeting, facilitated by former Denel CEO John Lamola, was held at the Saxon Hotel in Johannesburg in May 2009, a few weeks after President Jacob Zuma was sworn into office.

Masetlha confirmed that he had held meetings with both parties in the dispute, but claimed he was acting as a "concerned citizen", not on the ANC's behalf. He said the case could have economic implications for the country.

"Both sides were interested in my intervention to say ... what should they do in order to avoid a fallout which might ... in our interest as a country ... create a hell of a lot of problems for all of us.

"I am not scared of the arms deal. That dirty linen is neither here nor there. I must say now, as a member of the ANC NEC, that I am not scared of anything on that thing because we are going to shock you in terms of how we are going to deal with it," said Masetlha, without elaborating. However, he did note that the party wanted to avoid having the matter reach court.

Spitz contradicted Masetlha, saying the ITLI had drafted the proposed settlement "with the approval of the ANC", and the ruling party had requested the settlement be kept confidential.

"This was requested by the ANC, which obviously has its reasons for wanting it," he said.

Spitz added that the information sought from FirstRand was of interest to a "vast number of other persons and agencies ... political, financial and corporate, both in South Africa and abroad".

The Sunday Times has seen the proposed settlement document, which Masetlha signed in his capacity as "political head of the ANC Policy Institute".

In it, Masetlha undertook to "personally ensure the destruction of all the confidential information held by the ITLI and/or its privy parties ... and will further, to the extent possible, ensure that no confidential information is retained in any location open to the public, but not under their control".

But Harris, in a letter to Lamola, rejected this proposal, saying: "This is a very complex case and any involvement of outside parties other than our lawyers is not the proper process."

FirstRand spokesman Sam Moss confirmed the meeting between Harris and Masetlha.al probe - which could expose those who took bribes to prosecution.

http://www.timeslive.co.za/politics/2011/07/31/hawks-reveal-arms-deal-bombshell

How far is the Cape from Secession

July 31, 2011

By Chris Cochrane

In order for any region to secede from another country there are certain requirements that need to be in place before international laws are satisfied that the region has a valid reason to secede. These laws were created by the Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States, adopted in 1933.
This article is not so much about internal domestic problems (i.e. lack of jobs, discrimination, violence etc) that are necessary for Capetonians to demand independence , (although I will write about this topic in a later article), but more to do with international acceptance for secession.

A country must declare its intensions i.e. via a referendum.

At present as far as I am aware there is only one party (The Cape Party) although other parties or organisation may develop in the future, that has a manifesto outlying ‘reasons’ to secede from The Republic of South Africa. This only gives reasons for secession but does not elaborate on the international requirements necessary.

You can read their manifesto here. http://www.slideshare.net/cypher_balls/cape-party-manifesto-2011

The Cape Party wanted to use the last Provincial election of 2011 as a ‘referendum’ in so much that a vote for them was a declaration for independence from South Africa. It failed to gain many votes.

Let’s take it for granted that the majority of Capetonians wanted to secede (which at present they do not) what would the leading organisation for this movement need to do in the eyes of the international community to be accepted as an international country at a later stage?

Firstly a clearly defined territory needs to be marked i.e. the present Western Cape, however I believe other territories of the Eastern and Northern Cape are also being considered. This in itself is not sufficient. A clear, precise, exact area needs to be mapped if independence is to be considered, so for this reason alone the Cape Republic will fail international acceptance due to the fact that clear boundaries have not been defined.

For any area to be accepted as a country it also needs to have a government. Here the Western Cape would pass, if only it had clear defined geographic boundaries, because the provincial government is well cemented and it would be relatively easy to incorporate itself as the national government.

Admittance to the United Nations would also help other countries recognize The Cape as a legal country but because the United Nations is not a country it does not possess authority to recognize The Cape Republic as a sovereign state. As far as I am aware the Cape Party has not asked for United Nations admittance. In order for this to be done the aspiring country needs to send an application letter stating that it will abide by the United Nations charter to the UN Secretary General. This application is then passed on to the Security Council where all five permanent members i.e. USA, UK, Russian Federation China and France will vote on it. If one of these five countries votes against acceptance, the application does not go any further. If it is accepted the non permanent members, of whom South Africa is one will vote. Nine votes will be needed to accept The Cape as an independent Country.

South Africa is pushing for a change to the permanent members structure of the Security Council i.e. more countries especially itself to be included. If this was to happen and the Security Council kept its present veto system South Africa would almost certainly veto the Cape’s application for independence thus halting any further U.N progress i.e. admission to the General Assembly for consideration.
Therefore without a (1) referendum, without a clear (2) mapped area and (3) international recognition independence from South Africa seems to be at a standstill.



http://capeinsight.com/2011/07/31/how-far-is-the-cape-from-secession/