Oilgate man sparks renewed interest in scandal

Controversial ANC funder Sandi Majali has not only threatened to ‘tell all’ about how R11m of public money ended up in the coffers of the ANC ahead of the 2004 elections and the role played by state oil company PetroSA in the transaction, but he is also planning to launch a court action soon to recoup the R10m his Imvume group has already paid to PetroSA. Majali’s lawyer, Barry Aaron, told the Sunday Times that Majali had kept quiet up to now in order to protect powerful political figures. Aaron said that contrary to Imvume and PetroSA’s previous assertions, Majali’s Imvume group had never asked for the R15m ‘advance’ that was irregularly paid into its account. He claimed PetroSA offered to make the payment into Imvume’s account. Majali’s Imvume group made the donation to the ANC within four days of receiving the payment from PetroSA. In 2005 Public Protector Lawrence Mushwana found PetroSA’s decision to pay an ‘advance’ to Imvume was ‘lawful, well-founded and properly considered’. After a public outcry, PetroSA and Imvume reached an agreement about repayments and Imvume has since paid back R10m, but more than R8m, including interest, is outstanding. Aaron said Imvume had agreed to repay the money to ‘protect long-standing political loyalties’. Full Sunday Times report

The latest development has outraged opposition parties. The DA says it is going to table new questions in Parliament aimed at establishing who was ultimately at fault. DA minerals and energy spokesperson Hendrik Schmidt is quoted in Business Day as saying that Majali’s allegations were deeply worrying. ‘Majali alleges that the ANC went straight to PetroSA, a parastatal, to ask for funding, which is, essentially, the public’s money. The story, until recently, was that the ANC went to Imvume, who then used the R15m advance given to it by PetroSA,’ he said. ‘According to Majali, this story is backwards: the ANC requested money from PetroSA, who then gave an advance to Imvume. Imvume then passed it on as a donation to the ANC. This was an attempt to bypass the illegality of a parastatal donating money to the ruling party.’ Schmidt said the DA was not willing to let the matter slide. ‘First, the DA will submit a new round of parliamentary questions aimed at ascertaining who is ultimately responsible for the donation. Second, the DA will be calling on the Minerals and Energy Portfolio Committee to come together urgently to discuss this startling new development, as Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) and the Public Protector have issued conflicting reports and the matter has not been resolved.’ Full Business Day report

The FF Plus is to instruct its attorneys to set up a meeting with Majali and Imvume. Willie Spies, the FF Plus\' MP and spokesperson for minerals and energy, told SABC News the FF Plus had a keen interest in what Majali had to say. ‘The party will therefore request its attorneys to set up an urgent meeting with … Majali\'s attorney, preferably this week.’ Full SABC News report See THIS WEEK’S ANAYLYSIS (below)