Gerald Morkel played a big role in developing SA’s democracy, Helen Zille says
Fifteen years after his relationship with a fugitive German billionaire cost him his reputation‚ Gerald Morkel’s transgressions look pretty tame. In the light of what has happened since — chiefly state capture — the friendship between fraudster Jürgen Harksen and Morkel‚ who died on Tuesday at the age of 76‚ appears relatively harmless. The Desai Commission‚ which investigated the former Western Cape premier and Cape Town mayor‚ said in December 2002 that Morkel acted improperly‚ if not dishonestly‚ in seeking personal donations under false pretences. Judge Siraj Desai also said it was likely that the DA took money from Harksen‚ who was extradited to Germany after nine years living the high life in Cape Town. Quoting the writer Joseph Conrad‚ Desai’s report said it had found that the goings-on in the Western Cape government led by Morkel "seemed to lead into an immense heart of darkness". Morkel’s death coincides with the tribulations of one of his DA successors as mayor‚ Patricia d...
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