Publication: The Star
Issued:
Date: 2007-06-23
Reporter: Angela Quintal
| Publication |
The Star
|
| Date |
2007-06-23
|
|
Reporter
|
Angela Quintal
|
|
Web Link
|
www.thestar.co.za
|
Justice
Minister waiting for documents before acting
The official silence
over the corruption investigation against former transport minister Mac Maharaj
and his wife, Zarina, has been broken.
Justice Minister Brigitte Mbandla
has told Parliament that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is waiting for
information from the United Kingdom, as well as the outcome of a constitutional
challenge at home, before deciding whether to prosecute Maharaj and others for
alleged corruption.
Mabandla was replying in writing to a question from
Democratic Alliance MP Stuart Farrow in which she also reveals that the
investigation is more than five years old.
The information is the first
public confirmation by a cabinet minister of details surrounding the Maharaj
investigation.
Maharaj, has taken his fight against the Scorpions - to
extricate himself from possible fraud, corruption, money laundering and tax
prosecutions - to the Pretoria High Court, arguing that sections of the NPA are
unconstitutional.
While Mabandla did not mention Maharaj by name, it is
clear from the question and her reply, that she was referring to the former
transport minister and ANC stalwart.
In 2003, the Sunday Times reported
that Maharaj was alleged to have received a R535 000 kickback from Schabir
Shaik, relating to a R265-million contract awarded in February 1997 to Prodiba,
as well as a R2,6-billion contract to upgrade the N3 toll road between
Johannesburg and Durban.
A recent Maharaj biography, titled Shades of
Difference by Padraig O' Malley, notes that media reports at the time did not
state "that the drivers' licence contract had been awarded by the State Tender
Board and the toll road contract by the National Roads Agency or that neither
Mac nor the ministry of transport had any say in the awarding of either
contract".
Maharaj insists he is innocent and has repeatedly accused the
Scorpions and former NPA boss Bulelani Ngcuka of abuse of
power.
In her reply, Mbandla said a preparatory investigation
pertaining to the awarding of the drivers' licence contract was instituted by
the Scorpions in April 2002 and extended to the N3 toll road contract in January
2003.
"The project team obtained the relevant documentation and
interviewed several witnesses in terms of the Act. The process was, however,
halted by some of the individuals who were interviewed.
"They are
questioning the constitutionality of section 28 of the Act. They instituted
motion proceedings in this regard."
The Scorpions were waiting for
replies to letters of request directed in 2006 to the authorities in Switzerland
and the UK. A supplementary request to the UK was forwarded in January this
year, Mabandla said.
"The finalisation of the investigation is dependant
on the outcomes of the motion proceedings concerning the constitutionality of
section 28 of the Act and upon receipt of the information from the Swiss
authorities," Mabandla said.
Among those who believe that Section 28 is
unconstitutional, is former Mpumalanga premier turned ANC businessman Mathews
Phosa.
The section gives wide-ranging powers for a Scorpions
investigator to summon suspects or potential witnesses for questioning, order
them to bring documents that can incriminate them, and bars them from refusing
to answer questions, even when the answers to these questions could expose them
to a criminal charge. The section says those who give false evidence or fail to
answer questions or produce evidence will be guilty of an offence, and will be
penalised by a fine or a jail term.
Phosa, a lawyer who played a key
role in South Africa's transition to democracy, is on record as saying he
believes it is unconstitutional.
With acknowledgements to Angela Quintal and The Star.