Mondli lied and must go: unions
THE Public Investment Corporation (PIC) commission of inquiry into impropriety is scheduled to continue tomorrow and a labour federation has upped the ante, calling for Finance Deputy Minister Mondli Gungubele’s head after it emerged he may have misled the commission in his testimony.
On Monday, Gungubele testified that he had not been put under pressure to resign; yet other testimony was that he had received a phone call from Finance Minister Tito Mboweni during a board meeting, instructing him to resign or be fired.
As a result, Zwelinzima Vavi, the secretary-general of the SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu), has called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to discipline Gungubele, whose leadership he said had led to a dysfunctional PIC board after all nine members resigned on February 1.
The resignations came in the wake of allegations levelled by a whistle-blower calling himself “James Noko”, who accused Gungubele of colluding with fellow board member Sibusisiwe Zulu.
According to reports, Zulu is alleged to be at the centre of a corruption and nepotism patronage network at the PIC, where her partner, businessman Lawrence Mulaudzi, is alleged to have benefited from deals at the embattled institution to the tune of R6billion.
“The president needs to take steps against him. What will happen if he is redeployed elsewhere?” Vavi asked.
“If he has led the PIC to the state of being dysfunctional and lied on top of that, it means regulations need to be changed.
“The government needs to find a man of integrity to chair the PIC and take out the weight of politicians appointed to the position because the board will find itself in a position in which it cannot disagree with the chairperson due to political consequences, which is why the PIC has deteriorated,” he said.
Vavi also called for Gungubele to be charged with perjury and removed as a deputy minister until the PIC commission had concluded its inquiry.
“From where I’m standing, there has been lot of political interference. The board of the PIC is under a lot of pressure.
“Gungubele wants to entrench himself and use the PIC for his own benefit. The commission needs to assess if the evidence he has given is credible. With all that has transpired, what is he still doing there since the minister told him to resign?
“It’s because corruption is allowed within the ruling party and it’s unfortunate that workers are not privy to what is happening at the PIC, yet it’s their money being misused by politicians and their proxies.”
Vavi also said it was unfortunate that the mainstream media had not fully communicated the negative impact of political intrusion at the PIC.
“Gungubele is supposed to have been declared delinquent. He is not supposed to be anywhere near public funds,” he said.
Responding to allegations that he may have misled the commission, Gungubele said he had undertaken not to comment until the commission had concluded its work.
“I do not want to create another commission outside the inquiry. I would like to request that we let the commissioner reach a verdict on the matter.
“I have never had anything to hide and I sleep well at night. I don’t want to engage further on what happened until the commission reaches its verdict. If the judge’s views are that I misled, I will live with the consequences of that,” he said.
Zola Saphethi, the secretary-general of the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu), said anyone implicated in the PIC allegations needed to be subjected to legal processes, especially board members who presided over the alleged corruption and looting of the state institution.
“The ministers who are deployed to chair the PIC need to be honest and if anyone provides misleading information, the president must do what is in his power.
“We do not mind who is chairing the commission, but they must be of character and credibility. People who have been implicated in corruption cannot be trusted,” Saphethi said.
He said Nehawu wanted amendments to PIC legislation to give more power and representation to the workers, who needed to have an input on how their money was managed.
He added that a legal team had been appointed by the union to observe the proceedings of the PIC commission and would communicate its thoughts through a statement on Wednesday on what needed to be done.
Saphethi said: “‘We want to pick up issues that are more conclusive. Those who are implicated must face the music. We will look at what areas of criminal elements we can pick up and get the Hawks involved. We will be making a statement and giving feedback.
“The commission needs to start looking at Steinhoff and other whiteowned businesses that have been ripping off pensioners’ money with disastrous consequences.”
DA MP and finance spokesperson Alf Lees said he believed that although the board was dysfunctional from a practical point of view and that an ultimatum for the board to resign had been given by the minister, it was important to make a distinction that they had not been fired when they resigned.
“I believe it’s an important distinction to make. Gungubele might be correct that they resigned, but the fact is that they were given an ultimatum.
“There are nuances that need to be taken to account. However, there is a need for a new board and it is clear that the minister of finance has lost confidence in his own deputy minister. The board members tended their resignations pending the appointment of a new board.
“It is not that they don’t have a board. They can still be held accountable. We will make sure of that, even if they later leave because people don’t escape accountability,” said Lees.
It has been reliably established that the secretary-general of the Black Business Chamber, Sizwe Ngqame, is to ask Parliament’s ethics and members’ interests committee to investigate if Gungubele lied under oath.