Bosasa work for ministers and ANC officials dubbed ‘special projects’
Nomvula Mokonyane‚ Gwede Mantashe and Dudu Myeni all had their properties upgraded, courtesy of the facilities company
On Thursday, the state-capture inquiry heard how ministers Nomvula Mokonyane and Gwede Mantashe, and former SAA chair Dudu Myeni allegedly received upgrades to their properties from controversial facilities company Bosasa.
The regional technical co-ordinator of Global Technology Systems (GTS)‚ Richard le Roux‚ delivered explosive testimony detailing how he carried out upgrades to the homes of government officials at the instruction of Bosasa bosses Gavin Watson and Angelo Agrizzi. GTS is a subsidiary of the Bosasa group.
Le Roux told the commission that work concerning ministers and high-ranking ANC officials was described as “special projects”‚ and he would allocate code names to each beneficiary.
“I would be tasked to do a site survey to determine what was needed. I would come back‚ get the relevant quotes from suppliers‚ and take that info to [Agrizzi]. He would go through it. I would then take that documentation to Jacques van Zyl [a Bosasa accounts department employee] and he would give me the cash to do the project.”
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Le Roux said all the receipts‚ invoices and paperwork for special projects were handed to Agrizzi on completion. Le Roux and his team used unbranded vehicles and wore plain clothes when carrying out the work.
Le Roux then detailed the work done on “Project Blouberg” — a property belonging to environmental affairs minister Mokonyane in Krugersdorp. He said upgrades were done to the property in 2013 and Bosasa carried out regular maintenance up to 2017. “We did the electric fence‚ the CCTV system‚ the generator‚ the distribution board‚ the pool pump and we also had to do a garden clean-up.”
Bosasa allegedly carried out security upgrades at three properties belonging to mineral resources minister and ANC chair Mantashe under the code name “Project Mantashe”. Le Roux said the properties were in Boksburg‚ and in Elliot and Cala in the Eastern Cape. He estimated the cost for the project to be about R300‚000.
Le Roux also detailed upgrades to Myeni’s Richards Bay property. He said an electric fence‚ CCTV system and an alarm system were installed over three to four weeks. He estimated the value of the upgrade to be R250‚000.