The Presidency in South Africa has reportedly indicated that President Cyril Ramaphosa has not had any contact with law-enforcement agencies over an investigation of fraud, theft and contravention of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA).
The elite security agency, the Hawks are carrying out the investigation.
According to the Presidency, Mr. Ramaphosa was unaware of alleged Hawks probe into former Eskom CEO, Brian Molefe’s claims.
Mr Molefe had informed the Zondo commission that Glencore appointed Ramaphosa as the chairperson of its then partly owned Optimum Coal Mine (OCM) in 2012 in order to assist the company in its dealings with Eskom, due to his political influence.
According to Mr. Molefe, Mr Ramaphosa bought 9.6% of the shares from Glencore and was immediately made chairperson of Optimum because he was their “best bet”.
He added that “Ramaphosa must have known about what Glencore sought to achieve. He was the chairperson of a company that was bought without due diligence, he was chairperson when the penalties were imposed.”
“He was still chairperson of OCM when the unlawful agreement that sought to increase the price of coal from R150 and set aside the penalties negotiated with certain members of Eskom staff in 2014,” according to Mr. Molefe.
But the Presidency, according to local media reports gathered by African Entertainment, says Mr. Ramaphosa was yet to establish contact with the law enforcement agencies in their ongoing investigation into the matter.
The Presidency came out with its statement after the Mail & Guardian reported on Friday that President Ramaphosa was facing a probe by the Hawks over Mr Molefe’s testimony in January at the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture.
Earlier reports suggest that Mr Ramaphosa has rubbished Molefe’s claims as false and said he would tell his side of the story when he appears at the commission sometime this year.
Acting Presidency spokesperson Tyrone Seale, has been quoted by The Citizen as saying on Friday morning that “The president hasn’t had any contact from law enforcement in this regard and more broadly the president has previously said that he is willing to give evidence to the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture.”
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