Parliament - Public Enterprises Minister Jeff Radebe on Wednesday that neither he, his staff, or members of the bid evaluation committee were aware of links between former ANC Chief Whip Tony Yengeni and the winning bidder for Safcol's Komatiland forests of Mpumalanga and Limpopo.

Safcol is the government's forestry company.

Radebe said Zama Resources Ltd comprised 70 different organisations and did not disclose any interest of any kind with Yengeni.

The Financial Mail reported in May that Yengeni was on the verge of becoming Zama chairman until he was forced to step back from the limelight in the arms deal furore in March 2001.

Yengeni is reportedly a close friend and business associate of Zama CEO and chairman Mcebisi Mlonzi. Yengeni's lawyer, Alan Jeftha, is also Zama's lawyer, and his former parliamentary secretary, Michelle McMasters, is now Mlonzi's secretary.

Mlonzi had told the Financial Mail he wanted Yengeni at the helm because of his strong ANC profile, and that he had been kept off the company board because of the adverse publicity.

Mlonzi said Yengeni had never had a financial interest in Zama and had never worked for Zama in any capacity until early last month, when he travelled to the Republic of the Congo to meet forestry officials on Zama's behalf, the Financial Mail reported last week.

The Sunday Times reported last month that Mlonzi and Yengeni were being sued over their failure to pay for full-page national adverts placed in newspapers to clear Yengeni's name.

Yengeni is facing fraud and corruption charges relating to huge discounts he received for a luxury 4X4 vehicle from an arms company when he was chairman of parliament's joint standing committee on defence.

He and the former head of the arms company, Michael Woerfel, go on trial later this year.

With acknowledgements to Sapa and www.news24.co.za