Crunch time for high-flying Malema

A report on the News24 site notes that the Hawks confirmed that they were investigating Malema for fraud and corruption. Hawks spokesperson McIntosh Polela is quoted in the report as saying: 'From the information that we have found, we have enough to tell us that we need to do a full investigation... there's a lot that tells us that we have reason to worry.' The Hawks would examine the flow of money through companies linked to Malema, including the Ratanang Family Trust. Polela said the Hawks would need time to work through large amounts of electronic data linked to Malema's financial dealings, and therefore could not say when the investigation would be completed. It has also been reported that SARS has initiated its own investigation into Malema's financial affairs and alleged failure to pay tax. This comes in the same week that Public Protector Thuli Madonsela announced she will investigate the awarding of tenders by the Limpopo government to On-Point Engineering. 'She will investigate the conduct within the state entities that led to the awarding of the tenders,' said Kgalelelo Masibi, a senior manager in the Public Protector's office. Full report on the News24 site

Meanwhile, desktop computers and laptops have been removed from the company that is part-owned by Malema as the authorities home in on On-Point Engineers' controversial tender deals. However, staff say it was not the Hawks, the Public Protector or any other public institution investigating the firm that carted away its equipment, but the owners of the Polokwane-based firm instead. Earlier this month the Mail & Guardian revealed that Malema owns a stake in On-Point, which was started late in 2009. Not long after that it won a R52m tender to administer a programme management unit at Limpopo's department of roads and transport and through which it effectively oversees the department's multibillion-rand budget over a period of three years. According to the report, On-Point staff reported to work on Monday to find that their desktop computers had been removed from the offices in Polokwane. Later in the day, says the report, they were told they were not allowed to take their laptops home, contrary to normal practice. Full Mail & Guardian report

Another Malema benefactor has emerged. A Sunday Times report notes that Mohamed Dada, whom it describes as a 'mystery tycoon' said to be flying ANC Youth League leader around the country in his private jet, was awarded lucrative tenders by the Limpopo Roads Department - whose projects are managed by Malema's company. The paper says it has obtained documents revealing that On-Point arranged for kickbacks from partner companies awarded roads tenders, through highly secretive 'back-to-back' agreements. It says among the businessmen close to Malema who concluded lucrative deals with the Roads Department is Dada, a Limpopo businessman who owns Dada's World of Hardware. According to the report, he is said to have flown Malema around the country in his private jet. According to legal experts, any benefit in kind, including flights, could be considered a prosecutable offence under the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act. Full Sunday Times report

In a new development in the saga, Polokwane mayor Freddy Greaver has promised to resign if he is found to have done anything wrong in the awarding of tenders in the province. A report in The Star says this comes just days after City Press reported that Greaver and several other business people were part of an alleged mafia that controls and plunders state money through tendering in the province. The report stated that Limpopo Premier Cassel Mathale and Malema were godfathers of the alleged mafia. Greaver dared anybody to investigate him, notes The Star which quotes him as saying: 'If these companies can provide any evidence that I have any business interests in them, that I assisted them with the intention to solicit a bribe, I Freddy Greaver I... will step down with immediate effect.' Full report in The Star

Staying with concerns over trusts funds, more voices are being heard in support of an audit and investigation of Free State Premier Ace Magashule's Operation Hlasela, which has been likened to Malema's Ratanang trust by a political analyst. According to a Volksblad report, the provincial government budgeted R75m for the project, which has two legs: The Operation Hlasela Programme and the Operation Hlasela Fund. Magashule's spokesperson, Wisani Ngobeni, said Hlasela is a registered NGO and is therefore not subject to scrutiny by the AG. 'Big companies like Shoprite and Checkers, Netcare and Edcon contribute to the Hlasela Fund,' Ngobeni said, adding that it was managed by an independent board of trustees. COPE's Mojalefa Monyane alleges that tenders in the province are awarded to the biggest donors. The report claims millions are spent on a newspaper, Hlasela News, and Hlasela TV. Ngobeni is the editor of the newspaper. Political analyst André Duvenhage, of North West University, is quoted as saying the allegations sound like those against the Ratanang trust, and warrant at least an investigation as state funds are involved. Full Volksblad report