Justice minister appears before ANC committee for VBS saga

By Zukile Majova
Political Editor

Justice minister Thembi Simelane has appeared before the ANC’s Integrity Commission to explain her role in the looting of the VBS Mutual Bank

While she was mayor of Polokwane Local Municipality, Simelane contracted a private company to manage the investment portfolio of the municipality.

She later received R575,000 from the company, Gundo Wealth Solutions, in what appeared to be a kickback.

Minister Simelane claims this was a loan, but has not presented the terms of the loan made in 2016 and only started repaying in 2019.

Previously, she told parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Justice that she used the loan to open a coffee shop in Sandton which later closed down.

So far she has rejected suggestions that she should have realised that borrowing money from a company that benefited from a contract with her municipality was unethical.

Simelane has submitted this explanation to ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula and President Cyril Ramaphosa.

For weeks now, Ramaphosa has been telling reporters that he was still studying the minister’s explanation and was yet to make a decision about her future in his cabinet.

Despite the cloud of corruption over her head, Simelane has refused to resign from the cabinet and rejected claims that she would interfere with the NPA investigation into the R1-billion VBS scandal.

Mbalula said the ANC decision would be guided by the final report of its integrity committee, which interviewed the minister virtually on Wednesday.

“The integrity commission serves as a crucial accountability mechanism of the organisation, which has a process that allows members to state their case based on facts, in order to preserve the integrity of its members and the ANC,” said the ANC in a statement. 

Pictured above: Justice Minister Thembi Simelane fights to remain in the cabinet despite the VBS saga.

Source: X