Johannesburg – The loan that embattled Health Minister Zweli Mkhize allegedly facilitated to pay former president Jacob Zuma’s lawyer during his arms deal corruption trial is now coming back to haunt him.
The R3.4-million that was allegedly diverted from KwaZulu- Natal’s Ithala Bank in 2005 when Mkhize was MEC for finance and economic development, has now placed current MEC Ravi Pillay in the firing line as pressure mounts for the provincial government to account on the windfall.
Opposition parties in the KwaZulu-Natal legislature this week took Pillay to task over the funds, which were disguised as a loan.
Last month, Sunday World reported that some of the millions taken from Ithala were also splurged on renovations at the house Zuma lived in after he was fired by former president Thabo Mbeki.
Read more: Taxpayers’ money used to pay for Zuma’s legal fees in arms deal trial
The windfall was paid around August 2005 by Ithala to Hola Recruitment and Selection Services, a company owned by Zuma’s former confidante and former ANC MP Sizani Dlamini-Dubazana.
Dlamini-Dubazana acted as a conduit for the money and rented Zuma a R3.6-million house in the posh suburb of Forest Town in Johannesburg.
In an affidavit deposed at the Norwood Police Station in February, Dlamini-Dubazana said Mkhize asked her to use her company to receive a loan from Ithala to pay Zuma’s legal fees.
“He (Mkhize) informed me that money was needed to pay the legal fees of the then deputy president Mr Jacob Zuma. These funds were needed because the advocate of Mr Zuma in his trial case advised that if he was not paid the outstanding fees, he would not be appearing in court on the next occasion that it was due to be heard,” she said.
He advised me that for political reasons, the loan could not be made directly to him or to Mr Zuma, but had to be made payable to a third party. He requested if he could use one of my companies for this purpose. I agreed .”
Replying to a legislature question by the DA on what his department intended doing following the startling revelations, Pillay told MPLs this week that the matter was confidential between the bank and its client.
“This is a matter of bank-client confidentiality which we must respect. Having said that, according to the information we have available, there is no indication that Ithala as a bank was aware of any other reasons or purpose for those funds apart from that which the applicant had disclosed,” he said.
Pillay added that the bank had since taken legal action to try to recoup the money.
Heinz de Boer, DA’s spokesperson in the economic development, said the MEC was trying too hard to protect his comrades in the lead-up to the local elections.
“This is how the ANC operates, it is smoke and mirrors for them. When we have a situation like this, it is quite clear that somebody received funding and there was no proper oversight or business plan to support the awarding of funding,” he said.
Lourens de Klerk, IFP spokesperson on finance and Scopa, called for heads to roll.
“The political elites have subverted the true purpose of the Ithala bank to line their pockets. The IFP will use its legislative powers to ensure that the politicians who unduly benefited are not let off the hook.”
Also read: Opposition parties call for probe into Ithala loan
Dlamini-Dubazana claimed that when R3.4-million was paid into her company’s account, she deposited R2.1-million into the trust account of Zuma’s attorney at the time, Michael Hulley, and used the balance to renovate and furnish the Forest Town house she had rented to Zuma.
The circumstances under which Zuma rented the Forest Town house are being investigated by the Zondo commission.
Sunday World has also learned that Hulley is part of another probe by the Zondo commission on the more than R2-million he received in legal fees from Gupta-linked company Regiments Capital.
Regiments is accused of having benefited from money stolen from Transnet at the height of state capture.
The commission has now written to Hulley asking him to explain the funds. Commission spokesperson Mbuyiselo Stemela declined to comment on the matter, while Hulley said: “ I can’t comment on this. The commission is doing its work and it must be allowed to complete it.”
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