By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) whistleblower Martha Ngoye has accused Judge Tintswalo Makhubele of aiding and abetting corruption at the state rail agency.
The claims come as the judicial conduct tribunal Makhubele’s facing resumed in Johannesburg on Monday.
Makhubele has been accused of gross misconduct relating to her tenure as chair of the interim Prasa board between 2017 and 2018.
After a string of delays, the tribunal finally kicked off in February, when it sat for a week before being adjourned until Monday.
During her time as board chair, Makhubele was accused of improperly involving herself in litigation between Prasa and Siyaya, a contractor which has had a number of its contracts set aside over allegations of graft.
Further, she was accused of sidelining the head of legal Ngoye’s department, and forcing through a settlement agreement which was later made an order of the court.
The agreement would have seen Prasa lose more than R50 million had it not subsequently been rescinded.
Ngoye has been on the stand since February, and her testimony so far has been damning.
Advocate Vincent Maleka, acting for Makhubele, stated during cross-examination of Ngoye that Makhubele was carrying out the duties and responsibilities expected of her as interim board chairperson.
Included in the decisions taken by the interim board at the time was the suspension of the legal panel, a move Ngoye criticised in her testimony at the tribunal’s last sitting.
“The board of Judge Makhubele, when it came into office, was well within its rights and duties to deal with that question,” argued Maleka.
Maleka told the tribunal that the legal panel – a list of law firms used by PRASA – was found to be “improperly constituted” by the Auditor General. He said among the issues raised was irregular expenditure by PRASA when enlisting the services of firms included on the panel.
Ngoye conceded there were issues with the legal panel, hence her department’s efforts to rectify them by attempting to convene to appoint a legal panel that met the required criteria. She said when the board suspended the legal panel “with immediate effect” during Makhubele’s tenure, there was no clear direction in the form of a “signed resolution” that instructed her department on legal service procurement.
Ngoye said instead, her department received an unsigned excerpt from a document detailing a discussion during a board meeting that stated legal services were to be procured through the supply chain management process and in consultation with the chairperson of the board. This decision, according to Ngoye, resulted in the sidelining of the legal department as well as a confidential settlement agreement with representatives of Siyaya.
She told the tribunal that despite hearing from PRASA’S business unit that no money was owed to Siyaya, and that the rail agency had a strong case against them in court, there were plans of a “secret settlement” with Siyaya, which included a payment of about R56-million.
Maleka challenged Ngoye’s claim that the settlement was a secret, saying it had been discussed with then PRASA group CEO Lindekhaya Zide, and Diale Mogashoa attorneys, who were enlisted by Makhubele to represent the organisation in the matter. That Ngoye was not informed about the settlement did not mean it was a “secret”, he argued.
Asked by Maleka whether she believed Makhubele “aided and abetted corruption at PRASA”, Ngoye responded: “The Siyaya transaction and the settlement thereof is tantamount to a corrupt transaction … I am saying yes.”
Watch Live in the proceedings below:
Video Courtesy of JRSA.