NATIONAL NEWS - Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane said the scope of her investigation into President Cyril Ramaphosa may be widened to include allegations of money laundering, City Press has reported.
This has, however, dashed hopes from the DA that the report would be released before the May 8 elections.
DA leader Mmusi Maimane met with Mkhwebane last Tuesday in the hope of speeding the process up. The party felt the case was taking too long as a complaint was lodged over five months ago.
In a statement last Tuesday evening, Maimane said his meeting with Mkhwebane had raised further concerns about the allegedly corrupt relationship involving President Cyril Ramaphosa and his family with controversial facilities management company Bosasa.
He claimed his discussion with Mkhwebane confirmed the DA’s claim that the president and his son were involved in improper business dealings with the company, though he did not provide details to prove that this was in any way Mkhwebane’s view, and not simply his own assertion.
On Saturday, Maimane had said it was “five months to the day since President Ramaphosa misled parliament about the conflict of interest between him, his son, Andile Ramaphosa, and Bosasa – the company that has been actively bribing ANC officials for almost 20 years”.
He had also announced his intention to meet with Mkhwebane on Tuesday so that he could be updated on the investigation into Ramaphosa and his son’s relationship with Bosasa “and the clear conflict of interest that exists between the Ramaphosa family and Bosasa”.
Maimane said he had also written to the state capture commission’s chair, Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, to ask for the president to be subpoenaed to appear before the commission over his and his family’s alleged conflict of interest with Bosasa.
“Ramaphosa needs to account to the commission and the nation as to the ever-growing list of transactions, contracts, and business dealings between his family and Bosasa.”
