More ANC leaders implicated in airline payments scandal
A SENIOR manager at a state-owned airline yesterday revealed shocking details of how the ANC sent one of its staffers to persuade him to drop a sensitive investigation and offered him a R3 million bribe.
SA Express divisional manager for security management Timothy Ngwenya yesterday told the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture that in August 2016 he received a call from a man he recalled as “Sipho” who claimed to have a mandate from the governing party’s headquarters Luthuli House.
“I need to talk to you, I’ve got a mandate from Luthuli House,” Ngwenya remembered the man saying.
At the time, Ngwenya was investigating R31m that was paid by SA Express to a company known as Koreneka, which was approved by the airline’s former chief executive, Anati Ntshanga.
Ngwenya said the ANC’s Sipho told him that the money that had moved out of the North West was meant to finance the party’s political activities and campaigns.
“I’m not a politician, I cannot be talking about Luthuli House mandates,” Ngwenya insisted to Sipho.
Ngwenya was promised R3m to drop the investigation.
In his evidence, Ngwenya also revealed that former public enterprises minister Lynne Brown, then transport Mminister Dipuo Peters and former North West premier Supra Mahumapelo were identified by whistle-blower and businesswoman Babadi Tlatsana as some of the beneficiaries of two payments totalling R51m.
Besides implicating Brown and Peters, Tlatsana also fingered national and provincial government officials, a head of department, an MEC and a Mr Wolmarans, who Ngwenya described as Mahumapelo’s right-hand man.
Ngwenya said Ntshanga ignored his suggestion that he report the matter to the authorities in terms of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act.
According to Ngwenya, Tlatsana’s company Koreneka received R31m from state-owned airline SA Express and another R20m from the North West government.
He said Tlatsana implicated former SA Express board chairperson George Mutema and Ntshanga and its former general manager: commercial Brian van Wyk.
“Tlatsana could not really account for the R31m,” Ngwenya said, adding that she was not directly involved in the disbursement of the millions.
Ngwenya later met Ntshanga and SA Express general manager: legal, risk and compliance Merriam Mochoele and they all listened to the two recordings that Tlatsana had made.
During his internal investigation, Ngwenya established that the contract for Koreneka was drafted by former SA Express legal adviser Nasiphi Mkentane without any company name and figures, and forwarded to Van Wyk.
Ngwenya also discovered that former SA Express chief financial officer Mark Shelley instructed junior staff to load Koreneka’s details into the airline’s SAP system for vendors.
“The following day, R8.5m was transferred from SA Express to Koreneka,” Ngwenya said.
Once Ngwenya concluded his investigation, SA Express planned to suspend Van Wyk, with only him, Ntshanga, senior employee relations specialist Nomfusi Gcakini and general manager for human capital Kgatile Nkala being aware of the move.