Fraud-charged former African National Congress (ANC) spokesperson Pule Mabe has stepped aside as per the party’s policy.
Mabe and his seven co-accused appeared at the Johannesburg Specialised Commercial Crime Court sitting in Palm Ridge on Wednesday, 16 October, after handing themselves to police the same day.
They were charged with 29 counts, including fraud, theft, contravention of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), money laundering, and assisting another to benefit from the proceeds of unlawful activities. They were granted R30 000 bail each.
PULE MABE STEPS ASIDE
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said the charges stem from the investigation conducted by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) and the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) into a tender worth over R27 million that was allegedly unlawfully awarded to Enviro Mobi in March 2017 to supply 200 three-wheeled waste collection vehicles known as tuk-tuks as well as over R6 million of storage costs that the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development paid.
Speaking outside court, Mabe said he notified the party’s secretary-general, Fikile Mbalula, of his intention to step aside at the weekend, even though he hadn’t been charged.
“At the same time, we will advise the integrity commission of the ANC of these charges that have since been preferred against us.
“We are doing so not because we are guilty. We are doing so because, over the past 30 years that we’ve been members of the ANC, we’ve understood the importance of carrying the resolutions of the ANC with everything else that we do,” he said.
The step aside rule was adopted at the party’s national conference in 2017 where criminally-charged leaders must voluntarily step aside and those that alleged, reported and accused of corruption face the integrity committee.
WHO ARE THE CO-ACCUSED?
Mabe’s co-accused include four former senior officials from the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development: Thandeka Mbassa, Matilda Gasela (both HoDs), Abdullah Mohamed Ismail, the former Chief Financial Officer; Loyiso Nkwana, the Chief Director-Sustainable Use of the Environment; and two employees of KGP Media Holdings (PTY) LTD, Mmatlhekelo Elsie Mabe and Tinyiko Mahuntsi.
NPA spokesperson in Gauteng Phindi Mjonondwane said that on 10 February 2017, GDARD advertised a tender inviting proposals for the integration and formalisation of Gauteng waste Small, Medium, and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) into the mainstream waste management economy.
The department received submissions from ten companies, including Enviro Mobi, a company in which Mabe was a director between September 2010 and August 2014. He was also a signatory on the KGP Media Holdings business account, trading as Enviro Mobi.
The state alleged that Makwana, Mbassa, and Ismail facilitated the appointment of Enviro Mobi, represented by Pule Mabe.
The state further alleged that these companies lacked the necessary expertise at the time of the tender award. Furthermore, Enviro Mobi allegedly indicated that it had no affiliation with any governmental official and/or Member of Parliament.
“From March 2017, Enviro Mobi allegedly submitted invoices worth over R26 million, which were not accompanied by any supporting documentation detailing services rendered or work done. Despite this, payments were allegedly authorised by Mkwana and Ismail. These invoices allegedly included payments for tuk-tuks without any proof of delivery.
“The Auditor General found that GDARD misrepresented its Annual Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2018, indicating that payments worth over R27 million made by GDARD during the 2017/2018 financial year were made in advance but were incorrectly recorded in the GDARD accounting records as expenditure instead of advance payments,” Mjonondwane explained.
Mabe and his co-accused are set to return to court on 25 March 2025, as the matter was postponed due to the disclosure of the docket’s contents.
DO YOU THINK PULE MABE WOULD GO TO JAIL SHOULD HE BE FOUND GUILTY?
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