NPA refusing to do its duty on Oilgate - DA

An NPA statement this week following the DA\'s renewed request for the NPA to probe the scandal was misleading and side-stepped the key issue, DA Minerals and Energy spokesperson Hendrik Schmidt said yesterday, according to a report on the Mail & Guardian Online site. Schmidt said the DA\'s initial request for an investigation was faxed to the NPA on July 29, 2005, immediately after the Public Protector found he could not investigate the matter fully because Imvume Management was a private company. \'The DA\'s request for an investigation was also lodged with the NPA before the matter was brought to the attention of the SA Police Service (SAPS),\' Schmidt said. He added that the NPA\'s suggestion that it was opposed to a \'parallel investigation\' was disingenuous. \'The very purpose behind the creation of the NPA was that it would ... identify key cases, primarily involving corruption, and lead an investigation to ensure results that the SAPS simply does not have the capacity to produce. \'There can be no doubt that the Oilgate scandal fits all these criteria. \'The ANC has pocketed what is effectively R11m worth of taxpayers\' money, and it has not had to answer to anyone. By refusing to take up the matter, the NPA is simply failing to do its mandated duty,\' Schmidt said. Full Mail & Guardian Online report

Imvume has repaid R8.5m of what it owes PetroSA, according to a Moneyweb report. PetroSA had given Imvume R15m as an advance payment for the procurement of oil condensate Glencore, most of which was allegedly diverted to the ANC. Letebele Masemola-Jones, the new head of corporate communications at PetroSA, said Imvume had been making R500 000 deposits every month. Full Moneyweb report