President Cyril Ramaphosa, facing criticism by political parties for being too slow to act on Justice Minister Thembi Simelane. Picture: Jacques Naude / Independent Newspapers
President Cyril Ramaphosa, facing criticism by political parties for being too slow to act on Justice Minister Thembi Simelane over claims of impropriety linked to the now-liquidated VBS Mutual Bank, will respond on the matter soon, his spokesperson said on Wednesday.
The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) is investigating charges laid by ActionSA against Simelane in connection with corruption and forgery.
Simelane has admitted to securing a R575 000 loan from Gundo Wealth Investments via VBS bank, which she says she paid back.
Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said the matter is top of the president’s mind and that the Presidency is confident her department is unaffected by the scandal.
Simelane sent a report to Ramaphosa on the matter last month but he is yet to publicly express his views on the issue.
Magwenya says while Ramaphosa takes his time to make his views public, he is aware of the importance of the Justice Department being led by a minister who is above reproach.
"As things stand, there’s no evidence that these revelations about the minister’s past financial transactions have had any impact on the functioning of the department. There’s no evidence of any political interference whatsoever, at least not to the president’s knowledge," said Magwenya.
Magwenya said the agencies falling under the department continue to do their work and are unhindered.
Earlier this month, ActionSA laid criminal charges in Polokwane against Simelane for alleged violations of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act, as well as the common law crime of forgery, relating to the R575 600 loan.
The party’s parliamentary leader Athol Trollip said: “During her tenure as Mayor of Polokwane, Minister Simelane received R575 600, which she now claims was a “loan” from Gundo Wealth Solutions, which she used to purchase a Sandton Coffee Shop. At the time, Gundo Wealth Solutions was the very same investment brokerage that had unlawfully invested R349 million of Polokwane Municipality’s funds into the now-collapsed VBS Bank.”
Trollip said the party believes that ‘for the sake of the integrity of our justice system and the rule of law, the President has a responsibility to suspend the Minister pending the outcome of the ongoing investigation’.
The Mercury