By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Deputy President Paul Mashatile has strongly rejected allegations of improper conduct and political interference regarding the multibillion-rand National Lottery tender awarded to the Sizekhaya consortium.
During a parliamentary question and answer session, Mashatile faced scrutiny from opposition parties over his close ties to Sizekhaya shareholders.
The matter was raised by Build One South Africa (BOSA) MP Nobuntu Hlazo-Webster.
She referenced Section 96 of the Constitution, which prohibits Cabinet members from exposing themselves to conflicts between their official responsibilities and private interests.
She also asked whether he would support a full investigation into the awarding of the licence “in line with nobody being above the rule of law and in line with Section 96 of the Constitution”.
In response, Mashatile said the process fell under the authority of Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau, who had delayed the appointment of the lottery operator in order to investigate the matter.
“That investigation, if I’m correct, is probably about to be concluded. It’s almost a year.”
Mashatile defended his long-standing friendships with business people, saying many of them had been his friends for decades before entering business.
“Some of them have been my friends for more than 20 or 30 years. When I went into politics, they went into business,” he said.
“So you are saying to me, please don’t see them anymore. Don’t associate with them because they are in business. Nobody is saying you are giving them business.”
Mashatile said he would not distance himself from friends simply because they had become successful businesspeople.
The controversy follows the awarding of the national lottery licence to Sizekhaya Holdings, which has links to Mashatile through some of its shareholders.
One of consortium’s shareholders is Bellamont Gaming, co-owned by Khumo Bogatsu – Mashatile’s sister-in-law – and KwaZulu-Natal businessman Moses Tembe, who chairs Sizekhaya.
Bogatsu is believed to be the twin sister of Mashatile’s wife, Humile Mashatile.
Bellamont Gaming was registered in December 2023, nine months after Mashatile and his wife held lavish wedding celebrations attended by political and business elites.
The consortium registered Sizekhaya just days before the February 3 deadline last year to bid for the fourth national lottery licence.
The Lotteries Act provides that “no political party in the Republic or political office-bearer [must have] any direct financial interest in the applicant or a shareholder of the applicant” for a lottery licence.