DA refuses to disclose how much it got from fraud-tainted Steinhoff

Despite its federal chairperson, Athol Trollip, having already admitted that the party got money from the fraud and corruption-tainted Steinhoff, the Democratic Alliance (DA) has remained steadfast in refusing to disclose how much it got from the collapsed company. The party is also refusing to say whether or not it has returned the money to the company which caused the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) to lose around R20 billion in money invested in it. DA spokesperson Solly Malatsi told Independent Media on Thursday that it has a policy not to disclose donors.

The questions on how much the party got were prompted by revelations made by Trollip on Tuesday while speaking to Radio 702 that they also got money from the company. Trollip explained how the party ended up scoring the vehicle that was later used by DA’s national leader, Mmusi Maimane. Maimane is now being investigated for not returning the car to the company early enough when the damaging fraud scandal broke around 2017.

When asked to be honest and tell the public how much and how long the DA got money from Steinhoff or any of its directors, bosses or subsidiaries, Malatsi said: “As a policy of the party, we never reveal our donors, including the nature of the donations. This is because the majority, if not all, donors have a reasonable fear of victimisation and also prefer to maintain their privacy. He stressed that made the exception to reveal the details regarding the donation of the vehicle from Steinhoff was because of the inaccurate reporting on the issue.

Asked again who exactly in the DA went to Steinhoff to solicit funding and whether the DA willing to return whatever funding it got from Steinhoff considering that it is now considered to be tainted money, Malatsi was evasive. The party has a fundraising team comprising professional staff and party leaders who are tasked with raising money for the organization,” he said.

The same evasiveness was also displayed by Trollip during the interview with Eusebius McKaiser, the host of the Radio 702 show who tried to cornered him on the issue. Trollip refused to be cornered saying he would only know how much had been donated when he spoke to the fundraising team.

In other news – Bheki Cele unfazed by state capture allegations

The police minister maintains allegations levelled against him are only assumptions at this stage and a response would be tabled after testimony if necessary. Police Minister Bheki Cele has criticised allegations levelled against him at the commission of inquiry into state capture where he was accused to have awarded tenders to Durban businessman Timothy Marimuthu.

Ex-crime intelligence member Colonel Dhanajaya Naidoo told the commission of previous conversations with colleagues during his testimony on Monday. “Over a period of time”, he heard rumours that when Cele was the MEC for transport in KwaZulu-Natal, he was allegedly involved in Marimuthu receiving beneficial tenders. Read more

Source: IOL

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