Public Protector Lawrence Mushwana is considering appealing against a high court judgement setting aside his 2005 report on the so-called "Oilgate" scandal, his office said on Monday.
"The Public Protector is currently considering legal advice regarding a possible appeal against the setting aside of the report by the high court and will take a decision in this regard in due course," a spokesperson for his office said in a statement.
The scandal involved the alleged irregular payment of R15-million by PetroSA to Imvume Management, which had claimed it needed bridging finance to pay oil-supply company Glencore for a shipment of oil four days from harbour. However, Imvume failed to pay Glencore, and PetroSA had to pay another R15-million directly to Glencore. Part of the first payment -- R11-million -- was allegedly used for the ANC's 2004 election campaign. In his report, Mushwana found no evidence of wrongdoing in the scandal. He determined that the ANC and Imvume were not public entities and therefore did not perform public functions and as such were not part of government.
"We look forward to a more thorough investigation of the Oilgate saga by the Public Protector, and to the prospect of genuine accountability for the abuse of public money for party political purposes uncovered by our reporting," The high court ruling said.
Source: Mail & Guardian
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