‘Gauteng’s Nkandla’ owner must be charged – DA
An old wooden gate, a dilapidated guard house, a corrugated iron shack and a broken, makeshift toilet mask the palatial house that Gauteng ANC chief whip, Brian Hlongwa, has been building in the background for the past few years.
The R7.2 million property was under construction until law enforcement agencies came in and it was put under curatorship on suspicion that he bought it with the proceeds of crime.
It’s alleged he paid R7.2 million for it in 2007, demolishing the house to replace it with what DA shadow MEC for health, Jack Bloom, described as a Nkand- la-style palace. Recently, the Special Investigative Unit released a report implicating Hlongwa in alleged graft involving R1.2 billion during his tenure as Gauteng health MEC from 2006 to 2009.
It’s alleged he was bribed by companies his former department did business with, including 3P, which he appointed to set up a project management unit in his department. Richard Payne, managing director of 3P, allegedly made payments towards the purchase and renovation of Hlongwa’s house.
National Prosecuting Authority evidence submitted in court indicated there was an “apparent and general corruption relationship between Hlongwa and Payne”. In 2014, the High Court in Johannesburg granted an application putting the property under curatorship.
Yesterday, the DA was protesting outside the house, which Bloom called “Gauteng’s Nkand- la”. He said this money should have gone into healthcare for the province’s people. Last week, the DA submitted a motion for Hlongwa to resign. The ANC voted it down.