Yesterday, during Parliament’s ad hoc committee hearings, ActionSA’s Dereleen James MP powerfully exposed how many of the NPA’s failures stem from Shamila Batohi’s lack of leadership of this critical institution.
In her questioning of Batohi, James raised the numerous complaints by ActionSA President, Herman Mashaba during his tenure as mayor of Johannesburg, in relation to serious cases of fraud and corruption that had been investigated by the city’s forensic unit and handed over to the NPA without any action arising. This work arose from a forensic unit that investigated over 6000 cases of fraud, corruption and maladministration totalling more than R35 billion in transactions.
Part of the dossier of forensic cases handed over to the NPA included a former ANC MMC of Housing who had sold the same piece of municipal land to two different individuals; a revenue official in the city who had deleted the debt of non-paying residents in exchange for bribes as was revealed by Carte Blanche; and a Zimbabwean owned company who received a tender with a fraudulent bank guarantee and was paid over R60 million for work costed at no more than R5 million.
Also among these cases was the matter involving Gupta-linked Regiments Capital, which paid former ANC Mayor Geoff Makhubo R30 million for “maintaining a strategic relationship with the City of Johannesburg.” This included a deal for the land on which the Sandton Gautrain Station now stands, in terms of which the city effectively gifted the land with a promise of R280 million following the mixed-use development of the property — and even exempted the company from paying for services such as water. The company has since gone into liquidation, yet the city remains owed the full amount, as the title deed was already transferred.
In response to James, Batohi astonished all by inviting Mashaba to send his representations to her the following day, asserting that they would be dealt with urgently.
James went on to produce numerous letters and representations that had been submitted directly to Batohi and the now-suspended provincial prosecutions head, Adv. Andrew Chauke, raising concerns about the NPA’s continued inaction and its repeated withdrawal of charges in cases supported by incontrovertible evidence.
Batohi’s either dishonesty or sudden memory loss of scores of representations made by the then Mayor of South Africa’s largest metro, complaining about misconduct against the same provincial prosecution’s boss that Batohi moved to suspend only a few years later, is difficult to accept.
Also raised in James’ questioning of Batohi was the concern that it took more than two years after Batohi’s representations, and six years since Mashaba’s, for the President to suspend Chauke. When asked what actions she took during those two years, Batohi appeared completely indifferent, unable to cite any steps she had taken to expedite the matter, despite the NPA being led by a compromised Chauke in Gauteng.
It is no surprise that the NPA has been rendered entirely ineffective under Batohi’s leadership and her failure to steer the organisation towards the turnaround it so desperately requires.
Earlier this year, ActionSA handed over a memorandum to the Minister of Justice calling for the immediate removal of Batohi and the commencement of a recruitment process to appoint an appropriately qualified and capable leader for the NPA. The urgency of this demand continues to grow as the country’s prosecuting authority remains rudderless.
Of equal importance to the turnaround of this institution is the need to protect it from Parliament’s longstanding efforts to defund the NPA. The NPA must be funded by a fixed percentage of the national budget to ensure that it does not have to request funds from those it may ultimately be required to prosecute.
ActionSA commends its Member of Parliament, Dereleen James, and the entire parliamentary caucus for their vital role as the unofficial opposition in a Parliament where GNU parties are too compromised to speak up, and where the voice of the opposition remains patently disorganised. ActionSA will continue to serve as a constructive opposition in Parliament and, where necessary, as the tip of the spear of accountability.
ActionSA’s Dereleen James Exposes Batohi in Ad Hoc Committee
Yesterday, during Parliament’s ad hoc committee hearings, ActionSA’s Dereleen James MP powerfully exposed how many of the NPA’s failures stem from Shamila Batohi’s lack of leadership of this critical institution.
In her questioning of Batohi, James raised the numerous complaints by ActionSA President, Herman Mashaba during his tenure as mayor of Johannesburg, in relation to serious cases of fraud and corruption that had been investigated by the city’s forensic unit and handed over to the NPA without any action arising. This work arose from a forensic unit that investigated over 6000 cases of fraud, corruption and maladministration totalling more than R35 billion in transactions.
Part of the dossier of forensic cases handed over to the NPA included a former ANC MMC of Housing who had sold the same piece of municipal land to two different individuals; a revenue official in the city who had deleted the debt of non-paying residents in exchange for bribes as was revealed by Carte Blanche; and a Zimbabwean owned company who received a tender with a fraudulent bank guarantee and was paid over R60 million for work costed at no more than R5 million.
Also among these cases was the matter involving Gupta-linked Regiments Capital, which paid former ANC Mayor Geoff Makhubo R30 million for “maintaining a strategic relationship with the City of Johannesburg.” This included a deal for the land on which the Sandton Gautrain Station now stands, in terms of which the city effectively gifted the land with a promise of R280 million following the mixed-use development of the property — and even exempted the company from paying for services such as water. The company has since gone into liquidation, yet the city remains owed the full amount, as the title deed was already transferred.
In response to James, Batohi astonished all by inviting Mashaba to send his representations to her the following day, asserting that they would be dealt with urgently.
James went on to produce numerous letters and representations that had been submitted directly to Batohi and the now-suspended provincial prosecutions head, Adv. Andrew Chauke, raising concerns about the NPA’s continued inaction and its repeated withdrawal of charges in cases supported by incontrovertible evidence.
Batohi’s either dishonesty or sudden memory loss of scores of representations made by the then Mayor of South Africa’s largest metro, complaining about misconduct against the same provincial prosecution’s boss that Batohi moved to suspend only a few years later, is difficult to accept.
Also raised in James’ questioning of Batohi was the concern that it took more than two years after Batohi’s representations, and six years since Mashaba’s, for the President to suspend Chauke. When asked what actions she took during those two years, Batohi appeared completely indifferent, unable to cite any steps she had taken to expedite the matter, despite the NPA being led by a compromised Chauke in Gauteng.
It is no surprise that the NPA has been rendered entirely ineffective under Batohi’s leadership and her failure to steer the organisation towards the turnaround it so desperately requires.
Earlier this year, ActionSA handed over a memorandum to the Minister of Justice calling for the immediate removal of Batohi and the commencement of a recruitment process to appoint an appropriately qualified and capable leader for the NPA. The urgency of this demand continues to grow as the country’s prosecuting authority remains rudderless.
Of equal importance to the turnaround of this institution is the need to protect it from Parliament’s longstanding efforts to defund the NPA. The NPA must be funded by a fixed percentage of the national budget to ensure that it does not have to request funds from those it may ultimately be required to prosecute.
ActionSA commends its Member of Parliament, Dereleen James, and the entire parliamentary caucus for their vital role as the unofficial opposition in a Parliament where GNU parties are too compromised to speak up, and where the voice of the opposition remains patently disorganised. ActionSA will continue to serve as a constructive opposition in Parliament and, where necessary, as the tip of the spear of accountability.