Legal action looms for refusal to say if it has business ties with Ramaphosa’s son

BOSASA could face legal action for its alleged refusal to reveal whether it is doing business with President Cyril Ramaphosa’s son, Andile.

Yesterday, DA leader Mmusi Maimane said his party was seeking legal advice on what action to take after Bosasa refused to answer questions relating to its business dealings with Andile Ramaphosa.

Maimane’s threats came after Bosasa, now known as African Global, responded to the opposition party’s Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) application in which Maimane wanted to know the contents of the contracts Bosasa had with Andile Ramaphosa.

Maimane made the PAIA application on November 8 and he received the response on Thursday. In his response, African Global chairman John Gumede wrote “there exists no record that fits the description contract and invoice of R500 000 financial consulting services provided by the President’s son Andile Ramaphosa to Bosasa (now African Global Operations)”.

In his PAIA application, Maimane asked Bosasa to verify President Ramaphosa’s remarks in Parliament in which he said Andile “actually showed me a contract he signed with Bosasa and the contract deals with issues of integrity, anti-corruption, and all that”. In his reply, Gumede emphasised, “African Global Operations declines to furnish this record as the record is not required by you for the exercise or protection of any right as required in terms of Section 50 (1) (a) of Act 2 of 2000 (The Act).

Yesterday, Maimane described Gumede’s response as a “blanket refusal for access to any and all contracts the company has with Andile Ramaphosa”.

“Bosasa and the Ramaphosa’s are hiding something, we will get to the bottom of it. I have therefore asked our legal team to advise on what recourse is available. We will not relent in this fight to shine light on what has all the makings of ANC-style collusion, nepotism and corruption,” Maimane said.

There appears to be a “triangle of corruption in place”, he said, adding this was the very same system that locked millions of South Africans out of opportunity. “The fact that Bosasa gave a R500 000 “donation” to Cyril Ramaphosa’s campaign to become ANC president while the company does business with his son and received billions of rand in lucrative tenders from government cannot be ignored.

“It has been 14 days since I called on President Ramaphosa to immediately appoint a full-scale independent inquiry – headed by a retired judge to be selected by the Chief Justice – to fully investigate the Bosasa scandal, which now involves the president and his family. The president should do so without delay.

“Ramaphosa is not the only one to have benefited from Bosasa. A long list of ANC ministers and other party cadres have received extensive security upgrades like CCTV cameras, alarm systems and electric fencing free of charge from Bosasa,” Maimane said.