By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Minister of Employment and Labour Thulas Nxesi has broken his silence into the allegations that he attempted to secure a R500 million bribe in connection with a R5 billion deal with the Unemployment Insurance Fund [UIF].
Thuja Capital CEO Mthunzi Mdwaba, whose company stands accused of trying to score a quick R5-billion from the UIF irregularly, fingered three ANC cabinet ministers, who offered to push the deal through in exchange for a R500-million bribe.
Mdwaba implicated Nxesi among the three ANC ministers implicated in the scandal involving his company and the UIF in a 750,000 jobs deal.
The scandal also led to the resignation of Director-General (DG) in the Department, Thobile Lamati.
In a short statement, Nxesi says attacks on himself by Mdwaba, started two years ago, when the department withdrew Mdwaba’s candidacy for a position in the International Labour Organisation (LPO), saying Mdwaba blamed him for that and yet it was government decision to withdraw his candidacy as he was previously declared delinquent director.
Nxesi says had government continued to support Mdwaba’s candidacy, South Africa was going to suffer reputational risk.
The minister adds, that their paths crossed again when he ordered a judicial review of the UIF controversial award of a R5bn investment in a company, Thuja Capital, which at the time existed only on paper.
Nxesi continued to say after he stopped the deal, Mdwaba conjured up a new allegation that the he attempted to solicit the bribe, which he vehemently denies, and its just an attempt to divert attention from R5 billion Thunja scheme.
The R5 billion funds in question will not be released to Mdwaba’s private company, concluded Nxesi.
Mdwaba added that at least two of the three high-ranking government intermediaries who approached him to facilitate the bribe represented the Treasury, which is under the direction of Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, and the Department of Higher Education under the direction of Minister Blade Nzimande.
The ANC secretariat office under the governing party’s secretary general, Fikile Mbalula, was also mentioned, he said.
Thuja Capital Fund only existed on paper, has no premises, website nor track record and Mdwaba is listed as one of its director, who was the chair of Productivity SA – a Labour Department entity tasked with “saving jobs and upping productivity.”
The other two people listed as directors of Thuja Capital Fund are Mdwaba’s son Litha, a rapper, and Alta Roets.
The department previously confirmed that Thuja Capital Fund Project is a project under the department’s Labour Activation Programme (LAP), “run by Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) together with some partners.
LAP is a programme within the Department and is funded by the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF).
According to the department, the purpose of the programme is to skill and up-skill the unemployed youth and unemployed UIF beneficiaries in order to gain access to the labour market, and to establish their own businesses.
In 2019, the department put out a call for proposals to train unemployed people and place them in jobs under the program and Thuja is one of many private companies that responded to the call.
Meanwhile ActionSA says it will write to President Cyril Ramaphosa requesting that he task the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to probe the allegations involving three Cabinet Ministers.
Section 2(2) of the Special Investigating Units and Special Tribunals Act empowers Ramaphosa to proclaim and gazette an investigation of this nature and he ought to do so without further delay, said the party in a statement.