The Economic Freedom Fighters in Mpumalanga have expressed their anguish over the procrastination of the South African elite crime unit to investigate Mpumalanga Premier David Mabuza.
They say the transfer of land from one man to a community trust during the time when Mabuza was agriculture MEC amounted to fraud and a case opened a year ago by the fighters in the province was still not responded to by the Hawks.
The EFF held an hour long media briefing at the province’s legislature building last week, citing the reasons that their office was still being renovated and cried over the Hawks delays in yielding results of their investigations in the matter.
The decision to lay charges of fraud at the Mbombela police station in November 2015 by the EFF in the province is for the which spans as far back as 2003.
In it, Mabuza’s role in 2008 is under police investigation after a task team set up by his agriculture department at the time allegedly assisted a businessman swindle the government of R3.3 million.
The Hawks have asked not to reveal details as investigations are underway.
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The 013NEWS understands that an investigation earlier by a private investigator, which the EFF bases its charges against Mabuza, found businessman Peter Visagie approached the provincial agricultural department under MEC Mabuza in 2008 to complain during the sale of land to the Ndwandwa community trust that an amount of R3.3 million was owed to him by the buyer – the government – and the government was then allegedly defrauded of the R3.3 million.
EFF provincial organiser Cyril Chuene told journalists at the media conference on Wednesday morning that they have been frustrated by the Hawks’ reluctance to take action against the Mpumalanga Premier.
“We have learnt with regret of the fact that the Hawks are not independent. It’s about a year now and we are not getting anything and that’s why we are questioning the independence of the Hawks, remember the case has been investigated before by private investigators and there is a report that implicated the Premier directly but the Hawks are not acting,” said Chuene, adding they now had this with the Public Protector. “We have registered our concerns with the Public Protector,” he said.
Mabuza’s spokesman Zibonele Mcwango had since stated that the Premier was more than willing to look into the matter but then it was “unfounded and malicious to link the Premier with things that were not the responsibility of the MEC”.
(edited by ZK)
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