On March 14 2009, Moss Phakoe – a beloved husband, son, brother and father, a dedicated trade unionist and a committed ANC councillor – was gunned down, aged 52, in his car in Rustenburg as he arrived home after putting up posters for the ANC election campaign.
Moss Phakoe started as a shop steward at the ATC factory in Brits. He was instrumental in establishing the then banned ANC in the region, for which he was brutally assaulted by the Bophuthatswana police. He became an organiser in the National Union of Metalworkers, but prioritised his work in the ANC, becoming a municipal councillor in 2002. He served as a member of the mayoral committee until he was removed three times by Rustenburg’s then mayor, Matthew Wolmarans, for trying to expose corruption. He was a perfect example of what a revolutionary activist should be: serving the people, expecting no personal reward and determined to expose those betraying our liberation movement through crime and corruption, which robs us of services and rots the moral fibre of our society.
This week, more than three years after Phakoe’s brutal assassination, Matthew Wolmarans and his former bodyguard, Enoch Matshaba, were convicted for the murder and sentenced to 20 years in jail and life imprisonment, respectively. MossPhakoe’s tragic story provides a shocking insight into the crisis of crime and corruption in our country. He sacrificed his life for blowing the whistle on corruption in the Bojanala Platinum District Municipality in North West.
Just before his assassination, Phakoe handed Wolmarans a dossier that implicated numerous politicians in acts of corruption in the municipality. He also had evidence of fraud in North West drought-relief projects. R33 million had been allocated for drought relief, but none of the money reached the communities in need. Instead, it was siphoned off through companies. Comrade Moss handed documents proving this fraud to the then minister for cooperative governance and traditional affairs, Sicelo Shiceka. Shiceka said he gave the documents to the Special Investigating Unit (SIU).
On the day of his funeral, the then provincial premier, Edna Molewa, said Phakoe’s death was a tragic loss of a loyal servant of the people of North West. She, Shiceka and the SAPS provincial commissioner all gave guarantees that investigations were at an advanced stage and an arrest was imminent. Yet for more than three years, MossPhakoe’s family and Cosatu’s North West provincial secretary, Solly Phetoe, bravely battled to bring the killers to justice. It meant march after march and endless demands that leads be followed up. Phetoe’s untiring efforts in this regard earned him so many enemies Cosatu was forced to hire bodyguards for him. Everything possible was done to delay the police investigation, protect the culprits and keep the truth from the people. Friends of the murderers even mobilised sycophants from the ANC to display the movement’s sacred ANC symbols outside court in support of the killers. Regrettably, those who bussed in these protesters remain members and leaders of the movement.
Allegations remain that others may be implicated in the murder, and Cosatu is continuing to demand the original report Phakoe submitted to be published and the whole truth be uncovered. We also demand the immediate release of a report by the SIU on corruption in 24 municipalities in the North West, which Shiceka promised the Cosatu central executive committee would be handed over but still has not. We need this to ensure those implicated do not go back to their offices to continue corruption.
City Press has reported that since MossPhakoe’s death, even more allegations of fraud and corruption in the province have surfaced, and are being probed by the Hawks. Former Madibeng municipal manager Philemon Mapulane was arrested and charged with fraud and corruption for allegedly receiving bribes for tenders worth R100 million.
Other Madibeng officials have been arrested and charged, and no fewer than 28 cases of fraud and theft involving amounts ranging from R61 000 to R30 million are being investigated. The best memorial to MossPhakoe will be to take forward the crusade he lived and died for – to rid our country of corruption and revive our traditions of selfless service to the people. We must root out the corrupt few who tarnish the image of the many who are decent and honest. Let us hope that all those facing charges of corruption and murder will now face the full force of the law – and that we see no more demonstrations of support for them.
Cosatu is campaigning that in Mangaung the ANC will endorse a call for those facing allegations of murder, rape and corruption to be forced to step aside while investigations take place, and that they only return to their positions once cleared. This is a big move that can help to clean up the image of our movement.
Cosatu has been in the vanguard of the fight to root out corruption. That is why we have set up Corruption Watch. We are determined to track down those hijacking our movement to make money, regardless of their connections, and ensure that they are brought to court and, if found guilty, punished severely. That is why we demand the Protection of State Information Bill. Although much improved, it must still be amended to ensure that officials cannot classify evidence of corruption as “secret” in order to punish whistle-blowers.
Cosatu has also called on the Protected Disclosures Act to be amended. Currently, this provides protection to employees only and excludes other individuals such as independent contractors and suppliers or recipients of services. Nepotism, patronage, corruption and greed are not only destroying the ethic of self-sacrifice and service to the people that has traditionally characterised our revolutionary movement. They are also exacerbating divisions and factionalism, which increasingly are not about ideology, but about access to tenders and contracts.
Leadership contests are now less about political principles than about which faction of which individual will advance business careers and fill bank accounts. The worst problem of all is the emergence of death squads. Political killings are on the rise, in particular in Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape. If this continues, anyone who speaks out will be silenced, the entire state will be auctioned to the highest bidder and we shall be well on our way to becoming a corrupt banana republic.
We owe it to Comrade Moss Phakoe’s memory to take a stand and say no to corruption.
Source: City Press
Showing posts with label Rustenburg. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rustenburg. Show all posts
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Friday, May 13, 2011
A Rustenburg municipal councillor was killed within days of reporting a dodgy contract.
A Rustenburg municipal councillor was killed within days of reporting a dodgy contract. On the eve of the local government elections secret internal ANC and municipal documents obtained by the Mail & Guardian have opened a window on corruption in a major municipality—Rustenburg in North West.
The documents also show desperate attempts by local ANC structures to blow the whistle to the party and how these attempts may have cost Rustenburg councillor Moss Phakoe his life. Phakoe was gunned down in March 2009, two days after meeting Cooperative Governance Minister Sicelo Shiceka and handing over a dossier of allegations against office bearers and officials in the Bojanala District Municipality, which includes Rustenburg and Brits. One document, marked “secret”, is addressed to the Bojanala regional task team, which was part of a special provincial task group set up by the ANC’s national executive committee to deal with internal conflict and service delivery problems in the North West.
The document, understood to have been drafted in 2009 by ANC intelligence operatives deployed to the province, is a devastating assessment of the state of governance in the Rustenburg council. It notes: “Various law enforcement agencies . have been inundated with reports and complaints of rampant acts of corruption within the Rustenburg local municipality. The complaints relate to the inappropriate handling of tender processes, shabby and undeclared interests in such by council officials and or councillors . “The nature of the complaints illustrates that organised crime is prevalent . Criminals [and] corrupters have access and an upper hand over administrative procurement procedures and officials and are able to influence decisions on the basis of blackmail, bribes and extortion. “They are able to switch their operations, benefiting from small and major contracts in directorates where officials are easily corrupted, blackmailed or issued with unlawful instructions by their respective political or criminal principals to award tenders in favour of their principals’ preferred bidders.”
The document appears to have been drafted before Phakoe’s murder, but reflects many of his concerns. It reveals that the police were investigating a number of cases, including alleged corruption in relation to the outsourcing of the Rustenburg Kloof Holiday Resort and Conference Centre. The Rustenburg Kloof deal was one of the major concerns raised by Phakoe in his meeting with Shiceka, according to information obtained by the M&G from concerned local ANC members, who asked not to be identified. They said the contract was one of the key issues that had fanned the bitter rivalry between councillors in the municipality and the executive mayor at the time, Matthew Wolmarans. It seems that Phakoe drafted a report suggesting that Wolmarans, who chaired the committee responsible for recommending the successful bidder, had interests in the deal. It was this report that Phakoe handed to Shiceka—and it may have played a role in the ANC.s eventual removal of Wolmarans as mayor in February last year.
Wolmarans has denied having any interest in the Rustenburg Kloof bid, which was awarded to a company called Omaramba. But one of the key players in Omaramba, North West businessman Oupa Mphomane, told the M&G that they were friends who had grown up together, although he denied they had a business relationship. “The councillors fighting with Wolmarans are behind these claims. I have always supported Wolmarans through funding for his political campaigns. As a businessman and an active member of the ANC I support the organisation ... I funded the provincial conference and about 3 000 people, including the MEC and ministers, came, ate and drank for free at the Kloof at the afterparty celebration,” Mphomane said. At the ANC provincial conference earlier this year Wolmarans made a political comeback, returning as a provincial executive committee member.
Phakoe’s Kloof report, which the M&G has seen, describes how an independent company appointed to evaluate the bids recommended another company, but says this advice was overturned by the committee chaired by Wolmarans, which recommended Omaramba despite its lower score. According to the Phakoe report, one of the shareholders in Omaramba was Silvia Moeng, Wolmarans’s sister-in-law, although this shareholding was later distributed among other shareholders.
Mphomane told the M&G: “I had a disagreement with my business partner because he proposed to hold a percentage of shares for his employee, Moeng, who never came to board meetings. We discussed it and agreed to share the stake among ourselves.” Wolmarans said this week that he knew about the allegations but that they had never been presented to him formally. “I have only heard rumours of people asking me about tenders and my relationship with Mphomane. It is not true that I had interest in any of the tenders and I had already moved from the committee to do special projects when the Rustenburg Kloof deal was finalised. Those allegations were made by disgruntled councillors.”
He confirmed that Moeng was his sister-in-law but denied that he had any knowledge of her involvement in Omaramba. “I didn't know that she was a shareholder. I know that Mphomane is a co-owner of the business. I know Mphomane, but I don.t have any business relationship with him.” However, company records show that Wolmarans is a director of a shelf company with Mphomane. The company, Mega Works Trading Enterprise 171, was registered last year.
Local ANC members hostile to Wolmarans are understood to have sent a document to senior provincial and national ANC leaders arguing that Phakoe’s corruption allegations should be considered a motive for his murder. It appears that the police have taken this claim seriously. The M&G has confirmed that investigators obtained surveillance tapes from a garage where Mphomane and Wolmarans had a meeting a week before the murder. Mphomane dismissed suggestions of his involvement, saying they were part of a “whispering campaign” against him. He confirmed that the police had questioned him about his meeting with Wolmarans at the garage as well as about Phakoe’s murder. He explained that the two were on their way to another meeting and had met at the garage to share a vehicle.
Responding to questions about the videotapes showing that he was armed, Mphomane was forthright: “I'm a businessman; I always have my guns for protection.”
Source: Mail & Guardian
The documents also show desperate attempts by local ANC structures to blow the whistle to the party and how these attempts may have cost Rustenburg councillor Moss Phakoe his life. Phakoe was gunned down in March 2009, two days after meeting Cooperative Governance Minister Sicelo Shiceka and handing over a dossier of allegations against office bearers and officials in the Bojanala District Municipality, which includes Rustenburg and Brits. One document, marked “secret”, is addressed to the Bojanala regional task team, which was part of a special provincial task group set up by the ANC’s national executive committee to deal with internal conflict and service delivery problems in the North West.
The document, understood to have been drafted in 2009 by ANC intelligence operatives deployed to the province, is a devastating assessment of the state of governance in the Rustenburg council. It notes: “Various law enforcement agencies . have been inundated with reports and complaints of rampant acts of corruption within the Rustenburg local municipality. The complaints relate to the inappropriate handling of tender processes, shabby and undeclared interests in such by council officials and or councillors . “The nature of the complaints illustrates that organised crime is prevalent . Criminals [and] corrupters have access and an upper hand over administrative procurement procedures and officials and are able to influence decisions on the basis of blackmail, bribes and extortion. “They are able to switch their operations, benefiting from small and major contracts in directorates where officials are easily corrupted, blackmailed or issued with unlawful instructions by their respective political or criminal principals to award tenders in favour of their principals’ preferred bidders.”
The document appears to have been drafted before Phakoe’s murder, but reflects many of his concerns. It reveals that the police were investigating a number of cases, including alleged corruption in relation to the outsourcing of the Rustenburg Kloof Holiday Resort and Conference Centre. The Rustenburg Kloof deal was one of the major concerns raised by Phakoe in his meeting with Shiceka, according to information obtained by the M&G from concerned local ANC members, who asked not to be identified. They said the contract was one of the key issues that had fanned the bitter rivalry between councillors in the municipality and the executive mayor at the time, Matthew Wolmarans. It seems that Phakoe drafted a report suggesting that Wolmarans, who chaired the committee responsible for recommending the successful bidder, had interests in the deal. It was this report that Phakoe handed to Shiceka—and it may have played a role in the ANC.s eventual removal of Wolmarans as mayor in February last year.
Wolmarans has denied having any interest in the Rustenburg Kloof bid, which was awarded to a company called Omaramba. But one of the key players in Omaramba, North West businessman Oupa Mphomane, told the M&G that they were friends who had grown up together, although he denied they had a business relationship. “The councillors fighting with Wolmarans are behind these claims. I have always supported Wolmarans through funding for his political campaigns. As a businessman and an active member of the ANC I support the organisation ... I funded the provincial conference and about 3 000 people, including the MEC and ministers, came, ate and drank for free at the Kloof at the afterparty celebration,” Mphomane said. At the ANC provincial conference earlier this year Wolmarans made a political comeback, returning as a provincial executive committee member.
Phakoe’s Kloof report, which the M&G has seen, describes how an independent company appointed to evaluate the bids recommended another company, but says this advice was overturned by the committee chaired by Wolmarans, which recommended Omaramba despite its lower score. According to the Phakoe report, one of the shareholders in Omaramba was Silvia Moeng, Wolmarans’s sister-in-law, although this shareholding was later distributed among other shareholders.
Mphomane told the M&G: “I had a disagreement with my business partner because he proposed to hold a percentage of shares for his employee, Moeng, who never came to board meetings. We discussed it and agreed to share the stake among ourselves.” Wolmarans said this week that he knew about the allegations but that they had never been presented to him formally. “I have only heard rumours of people asking me about tenders and my relationship with Mphomane. It is not true that I had interest in any of the tenders and I had already moved from the committee to do special projects when the Rustenburg Kloof deal was finalised. Those allegations were made by disgruntled councillors.”
He confirmed that Moeng was his sister-in-law but denied that he had any knowledge of her involvement in Omaramba. “I didn't know that she was a shareholder. I know that Mphomane is a co-owner of the business. I know Mphomane, but I don.t have any business relationship with him.” However, company records show that Wolmarans is a director of a shelf company with Mphomane. The company, Mega Works Trading Enterprise 171, was registered last year.
Local ANC members hostile to Wolmarans are understood to have sent a document to senior provincial and national ANC leaders arguing that Phakoe’s corruption allegations should be considered a motive for his murder. It appears that the police have taken this claim seriously. The M&G has confirmed that investigators obtained surveillance tapes from a garage where Mphomane and Wolmarans had a meeting a week before the murder. Mphomane dismissed suggestions of his involvement, saying they were part of a “whispering campaign” against him. He confirmed that the police had questioned him about his meeting with Wolmarans at the garage as well as about Phakoe’s murder. He explained that the two were on their way to another meeting and had met at the garage to share a vehicle.
Responding to questions about the videotapes showing that he was armed, Mphomane was forthright: “I'm a businessman; I always have my guns for protection.”
Source: Mail & Guardian
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