Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi has confirmed that there is beef between him and Mthunzi Mdwaba, the CEO of Thuja Capital.
This week, Mdwaba accused Nxesi of soliciting a 10% bribe for Thuja to score the R5-billion deal from the Unemployment Insurance Fund(UIF).
In a statement on Wednesday, Nxesi said Mdwaba had an axe to grind with him after the government decided two years ago to withdraw support for his candidacy for a position in the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
He said Mdwaba blamed him for this, “even though it was a government decision, emanating from the emergence of information on his dubious past”
“He was previously declared a delinquent director and unfit to hold certain positions by the courts.”
“Continuing support for Mdwaba’s candidacy, in these circumstances, would have incurred a real reputational risk for South Africa,” he added.
In a radio interview on Wednesday morning, Mdwaba rejected allegations that he was a delinquent director. He said he eventually won a settlement in the matter through an arbitration process.
In a text message on Wednesday, Mdwaba challenged Nxesi to produce evidence that the SA government took an official position on his ILO status. He said there was no cabinet statement on the matter. On the contrary, he said the SA government had, in fact, lobbied for him at SADC and in the AU.
“I was accepted as the only SADC and AU candidate. There was no other candidate,” Mdwaba said.
He alleged that Nxesi lied to cabinet about being a delinquent director. Mdwaba said he then served Nxesi with a defamation letter through his lawyers. He said the ILO also dismissed the allegation because the basis of the complaint was that he failed to call a meeting. He alleged the ILO officials found the matter laughable.
“This delinquency director thing had been investigated, and they decided it was nonsensical,” he said.
Mdwaba added: “I stand firmly by my position that Nxesi and the other two ministers solicited the 10% kickback of the Thuja-UIF project”. This amounted to R500-million.
Nxesi and Mdwaba have crossed swords before
Nxesi said his path with Mdwaba crossed again late last year when the media exposed a plan to pay over R5-billion of UIF funds to Mdwaba’s private company, Thuja.
“I acted immediately to stop any payment, even in the face of Mdwaba’s threats of legal action, thus safeguarding public funds”.
“I then called for a forensic investigation, which pointed to irregularities, including a conflict of interest: Mdwaba was both Chair of Productivity SA (an entity of the Department of Employment and Labour) and CEO of Thuja. We therefore instructed lawyers to prepare an application to set aside the Thuja agreement, and Mdwaba was removed as Chairperson of Productivity SA”.
He said his actions were carried out in accordance with the law, which did not prevent Mdwaba’s unwarranted attacks.
“This week, Mdwaba conjured up a new allegation, that I attempted to take a bribe from the transaction I stopped. This is false and without foundation; not one iota of evidence is provided in what is clearly a self-seeking attempt to divert attention from the issues around the R5-billion Thuja scheme. The allegation is also defamatory.
“I intend to firmly address the false and defamatory accusations made by Mdwaba. In the meantime, I can provide assurance that the R5-billion of public funds in question will not be released to Mdwaba’s private company”.
