By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The National Treasury has welcomed the conviction and sentencing of Tshifhiwa Matodzi, former Chairperson of VBS Mutual Bank, and kingpin behind the collapse of the mutual bank.
In a statement, Treasury said it noted the damning allegations of bribery against the former director-general, Dondo Mogajane.
Matodzi, claimed in his affidavit that Mogajane was paid a R1 million bribe to stop the National Treasury from insisting that municipalities withdraw their investments from VBS.
Mogajane agreed that he had met with Matodzi several times during his tenure, but says the meetings took place because Matodzi was pushing for Treasury to withdraw a circular warning municipalities that deposits at a mutual bank were not allowed.
This would in effect have put the brakes on the constant flow of money from municipalities, which was being facilitated through a “commission” system.This was nothing more than a system where bribes were paid to municipal officials to persuade them to channel municipal funds into VBS.
The forensic report by Advocate Terry Motau says that VBS treasurer, Phophi Mukhodobwane, admitted that “commission” or “consultation fees” were paid to solicit these deposits.
According to the Treasury, the Office of the Accountant-General (OAG) ensured that all municipalities that had invested in VBS should withdraw their investments as this did not align with the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) and these regulations were never replaced.
The treasury also opposed VBS from its attempt to interdict them from instructing municipalities not to invest in mutual banks.
“After VBS Mutual Bank was placed under curatorship, the National Treasury in March 2018 invited affected municipalities to discuss the extent of their investments, clarified the investment framework and highlighted the consequence management framework and for financial misconduct contained in the MFMA.
“Each municipality was requested to complete and submit information on the extent of investments held with the VBS Mutual Bank, including the source of funds for the investment,” reads the statement in part.
According to the statement, national treasury officials will serve as witnesses in the ongoing prosecutions of those involved in the VBS heist. They will provide evidence and submit affidavits.
Mogajane maintained he refused to withdraw his circular and also refused to allow VBS to conduct any further investment deals with municipalities.
Matodzi’s affidavit conveniently excludes the many meetings held in the presence of other people, including with VBS management, the Public Investment Corporation as a VBS shareholder, the South African Reserve Bank and other National Treasury representatives,” he said.
Meanwhile the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) has refused to be drawn to comment on whether it would be taking any action against its chairperson Mogajane after he was implicated in the looting of VBS Mutual Bank.