Committee chair ‘bribed’
MPs were paid to look the other way, Agrizzi alleges
BOSASA, now trading as African Global Operations, paid a group of MPs monthly bribes in order for them to manage the negative media scrutiny over the company’s tenders it had with the department over which they had oversight.
This is what the company’s former chief operating officer, Angelo Agrizzi, said yesterday.
Agrizzi told the Zondo commission of inquiry that Bosasa chief executive Gavin Watson was paying monthly bribes to the members of the portfolio committee on correctional services, including its then chairperson Vincent Smith, to look the other way when questions were raised about Bosasa’s government contracts.
At the time, Bosasa had a multi-million rand contract with the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development and Correctional Services for the implementation of access control and surveillance equipment at various courts across the country.
But the company was dogged by media scrutiny after the Special Investigating Unit started probing its affairs.
“A decision was made that the parliamentary committee would manage the negative impact of the media coverage on Bosasa so that it wouldn’t impact on future business,” Agrizzi said.
“It was agreed that MPs Vincent Smith, Vincent Magagula and Winnie Ngwenya would receive monthly cash payments to ensure an end to negative media coverage of Bosasa’s dealings with Correctional Services
“Vincent Smith would be paid R45 000, Vincent Magagula would be paid R30 000, and Winnie Ngwenya would be paid R20 000. Even though they didn’t have powers to allocate tenders, they have a very strong ability to make life difficult or raise objections.”
Agrizzi said Smith would also intervene when former Correctional Services commissioner Zach Modise was applying pressure over the favourable attitude towards Bosasa and also assisted during committee meetings in Parliament to ensure favourable decisions towards Bosasa.
Asked to provide specific instances, Agrizzi said he recalled many occasions when he met Smith at a Mugg & Bean branch located on the mezzanine level of Clearwater Mall west of Johannesburg.
Ngwenya collected her cash at Bosasa’s offices with her husband, who drove her there. He said the payments to Magagula and Ngwenya stopped when they were no longer members of the committee.
Agrizzi said that from 2008 to 2016, Bosasa paid R500 000 a month to Correctional Services officials, but this was later increased to R750 000 a month when Tom Moyane was appointed as
the national commissioner to accommodate payments to Moyane and other officials.
Agrizzi said the payments to Smith increased to R100 000 a month. Agrizzi also confirmed that Bosasa installed a security system and a camera system at Smith’s Constantia Kloof house in Roodepoort, which included an alarm system, electric fencing and various other security infrastructural hardware.
Bosasa also paid university fees for Smith’s daughter at Aberswyth University in Wales through a front company. In this instance, Agrizzi denied Smith’s version that he had loaned him the money to pay for his daughter’s university fees.
Earlier yesterday, Agrizzi told the commission that Environmental Affairs Minister Nomvula Mokonyane was on a R50 000 monthly retainer, among other benefits she enjoyed from Bosasa.
According to Agrizzi, the alleged R50 000 monthly bribe to Mokonyane took place from 2002 until Agrizzi left Bosasa in 2016.
But Agrizzi said that Bosasa had not derived any tangible benefit from its relationship with Mokonyane other than perceived political protection. Mokonyane was initially a shareholder and director of Dyambu Holdings, Bosasa’s parent company.
Agrizzi said that Bosasa’s relationship with Mokonyane dated back to around 2002 when she was still the Gauteng MEC for Safety and Security. During that time, Agrizzi said, Bosasa chief executive Gavin Watson requested him to see to it that Mokonyane was given various gifts and that numerous events were organised and paid for by Bosasa at her request.
The gifts to Mokonyane included maintenance and security upgrades at Mokonyane’s house in Roodepoort, a massive annual Christmas grocery list, paying for funeral expenses for deceased family members, catering for several ANC rallies on her instruction; including providing catering at former president Jacob Zuma’s 72nd birthday party.
“I initially didn’t think anything was wrong with this arrangement. It was accounted for in the books as any other transaction. There were numerous requests, including funeral arrangements for family members and car rentals for up to three months for her daughter when she visited from China where she was studying,” Agrizzi said. Agrizzi said that Mokonyane would visit Bosasa’s offices frequently.