The Public Protector South Africa has said that there was not enough evidence warranting the investigation into a complaint against President Cyril Ramaphosa over Minister Thembi Simelane’s loan scandal and Gundo Wealth Solutions.
Advocate Kholeka Gcaleka was responding after a complaint was lodged by Elias Muller calling for an investigation into whether Ramaphosa acted dishonestly and pretended not to know when he requested a report from Simelane about her R575,600 loan from Gundo Wealth Solutions before appointing her to his cabinet.
This media report initially reported that Simelane was allegedly bullied by the Presidency into issuing a press statement denying that she told the ANC Integrity Commission that Ramaphosa knew about the loan before appointing her as a deputy minister in August 2021.
Gcaleka stated that there was insufficient evidence provided by the complainant as per the requirements to enable an investigation into the matter; the complaint was hearsay, and the complainant did not corroborate the claims with facts.
“Other institutions, such as Parliament, are already dealing with the matter, and therefore the investigation would be a duplicate. A criminal case has been opened on the same matter,” said Public Protector spokesperson Khulu Phatiswa.
Approached for comment, Muller said that he was not aware that the Public Protector had rejected the request for an investigation.
“I must indicate that I received a confidential letter from the PPSA on the November 5, 2024. I was requested to respond within 5 (five) days.
“Unfortunately, I was reminded that disclosing the contents of the letter is prohibited in terms of the Public Protector Act. However, the PPSA has not informed me of the decision not to investigate the matter.
“I am under the impression that the PPSA is awaiting my response within 5 days from November 5, 2024.”
Muller told the publication that he would still be responding to the Gcaleka’s office before the end of business on November 8, 2024.
In his complaint to Gcaleka, Muller stated that the allegations of the bullying of Simelane by the Presidency should not be ignored.
“The Presidency stands accused of having bullied Honourable Minister Simelane to act improperly and dishonestly and lie to the public. I have noted that the article acknowledges that it is not clear if the Honourable President was aware of Minister Simelane’s bullying by the Presidency or not.”
After the revelations of a loan by Minister Simelane were recently reported in the media, the President was later reported to have requested a report from the Honourable Minister Simelane on the loan between herself and Gundo Wealth Solutions.
“What the minister disclosed to the ANC Integrity Commission suggests that the President might have been dishonest to the public when he purported to have requested a report on a matter that was long brought to his attention.
“The President created the impression of someone unaware of the loan that the minister had previously taken. However, he stands accused of knowledge of the loan, long before it was recently reported by several media houses.
“I request the PPSA to kindly investigate the following issues below and any other matter related to this complaint,” wrote Muller.
He requested Gcaleka to investigate whether Simelane was bullied by anyone from the presidency and the media statement denied that she had told the ANC Integrity Commission that the President knew about the loan in question.
He further requested the media statement issued by Simelane to be investigated to determine whether she intentionally aimed to mislead the public.
Lastly, he requested an investigation to check if Ramaphosa was aware of the alleged bullying of a minister by his office or some people within the Presidency.
According to media reports, during her tenure as Polokwane Executive Mayor in Limpopo, Simelane obtained a “loan” of R575 600 from Gundo Wealth Solutions, which was allegedly used to buy a coffee shop in Sandton.
The allegedly corrupt investment broking was owned by Ralliom Razwinane, who is currently on trial for fraud, corruption, and money laundering related to his role in facilitating connections and dodgy investments between several municipalities and the VBS Mutual Bank.
The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) is investigating charges laid by ActionSA against Simelane in connection with corruption and forgery.
Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, said the matter was receiving attention and that the presidency was confident her department was unaffected by the saga.
Sunday Independent