‘I won’t be blackmailed’ - Oscar Mabuyane defends appointment of Babalo Madikizela

He will not be blackmailed by tenderpreneurs hell-bent on capturing government for their own selfish interests.

This was Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane’s response when asked why he had appointed into his provincial cabinet a man accused in two sworn affidavits of corruption.

Babalo Madikizela, who is accused by Mthatha businessman Lonwabo Bam of being the mastermind behind an alleged fraud and corruption plot involving state funds, was named on Tuesday as the new public works MEC.

The other nine MECs named are:

● Mlungisi Mvoko (finance, economic development and environmental affairs);

● Xolile Nqatha (co-operative governance and traditional affairs);

● Nomakhosazana Meth (rural development and agrarian reform);

● Fundile Gade (education);

● Nonkqubela Pieters (human settlements);

● Weziwe Tikana (safety and liaison);

● Fezeka Nkomonye-Bayeni (sports, recreation, arts and culture);

● Sindiswa Gomba (health), and

● Siphokazi Mani-Lusithi (social development).

A week after he vowed to get to the bottom of the corruption scandal involving the Mbizana municipality and the R1.1m paid to Bam, Mabuyane said they would not be beholden to people who write “very flawed affidavits” for the media to report on.

Bam wrote in a sworn affidavit that he had submitted an invoice to the Mbizana municipality allegedly at the instruction of Madikizela and was paid R1.1m, even though no work was done.

Of that amount, R450,000 was electronically transferred to the architect responsible for renovations to Mabuyane’s house in Bunkers Hill.

Bam alleged further in a second affidavit that R2.2m was ultimately siphoned from the provincial transport department and that Madikizela had pocketed some of the money.

Madikizela has denied the allegations.

Mabuyane said the R450,000 for renovations was a loan from Madikizela and that he had subsequently made arrangements with his bank to settle the loan.

Minutes after announcing his new cabinet on Tuesday at the Royal St Andrews Hotel in Port Alfred, Mabuyane said: “One thing we’re not going to do is allow [ourselves] to be blackmailed by tenderpreneurs who want to capture government for their own selfish interests.

“[They] go around and create very flawed affidavits against other people, create wrong impressions that people have not declared when they have already done so in parliament, etc.

“There is no judgment against Madikizela, there is no court case that we know of.

“So up until that [time], Madikizela is going to be an MEC here [and] not somewhere in Europe.

“When those issues come, he will still be there to answer those issues.

“We observed those affidavits that are done for [the] media to write,” he said.

“You do an affidavit, then open a case, and then someone goes to court for a fair chance and to answer those allegations, not to get the public circulating malicious and distorted information in the manner we have seen.”

Asked if the probe into the Mbizana R1.1m scandal would continue, Mabuyane said the provincial Treasury department was working on it.

He said Madikizela’s work while human settlements MEC for the past year had brought about a much-needed energy into the department.

“We believe that public works has not been getting the energy it deserves, the kind of management we want out there,” Mabuyane said.

He described the rest of his cabinet as a capable team that would improve service delivery in the province

“This team will push us to another level.

“I have explained to them that in deployment there is one thing that we are certain about – we might start together but we might not finish together.

“If you are given an opportunity now, make use of the opportunity not to [raise your own profile] but to work for our people.

“When the ANC was starting the list process, one of the requirements was academic qualifications – it’s not the only barometer that we’re using but also the kind of experience that these people bring.

“Since the ANC took over, we have made schooling fashionable, we have sent our people to school.”

Mabuyane said the appointed MECs had served in different spheres of government.

“This is the kind of barometer we are looking at when it comes to capability.

“What is also key is the potential,” he said.

“I’ve never been a premier.

“I don’t know how you can assess my fitness for purpose if I have never been a premier.

“These people are always with us – we have worked with them and we have placed them in different capacities to ensure that they represent the ANC.

“We are comfortable and we are definitely going to pull it through.”

Mvoko, who takes over the reins from Mabuyane as finance MEC, said the first thing he would do in the department was familiarise himself with mega projects in the province.

“I have to understand the big projects that they are driving now because I think we need to take it from where Mr Mabuyane left off, in terms of identifying huge projects that will change the economy of the province and create jobs,” Mvoko said.

Former OR Tambo district mayor Meth said she had mixed feelings about taking over the department of rural development and agrarian reform.

“I am excited, challenged, and at the same time I’m comforted by the fact that I am

called for the task.

“I am looking forward to this new responsibility,” Meth said.

She believed her rural background and upbringing would help her.

“I know the sector and I am [a] rural girl, and being the [former] mayor of OR Tambo means I understand many sectors of development.

“Agriculture is a sector that I know and brings an opportunity for the Eastern Cape to grow economically.”

Gade said the position of education MEC came with a lot of responsibility and a multitude of challenges.

“As a ruling party, we stand a greater chance of transforming that department because some of us have been in that sector for more than 15 years and it’s nothing new in terms of the work, but it’s something new in terms of the positions,” Gade said.

As a former teacher, Gade said there were four key areas he wanted to focus on, including the infrastructure backlog of mud schools, the pupil dropout rate, teacher capabilities and absent teachers in classrooms.

“The issue of the pass rate or failure rate is not as serious as the issue of the learner who was enrolled in grade R but not getting to grade 12,” he said.

“When you talk of the pass rate, you talk of kids who have written their exams and not of those who have not written their exams.

“[It is] critical for us to mobilise communities to ensure each and every kid goes to school, close up gaps that create dropouts.”

Nkomonye-Bayeni, who has a degree in political science, served in the sport and recreation committee for 10 years, which, she said, had equipped her with the know-how to run the department.

“At the moment, I haven’t met the directors so I don’t want to say what are some of the areas I’d like to tackle.

“The length of time I spent in the provincial legislature really capacitated me because I’ve been there for more than 10 years, which has given me an idea of how the department is shaped and I probably know where I will add value,” Nkomonye-Bayeni said.

ANC chief whip in the legislature Loyiso Magqashela said they were confident that the new executive would ensure efficient service delivery.

“We are particularly pleased to note the appointment of a diverse cabinet which incorporates experience, a gender balance and a youthful flair.

“This demonstrates the ANC’s commitment to a cabinet that is fit for purpose and reflective of the province’s demographic landscape.”

DA leader in the legislature Nqaba Bhanga said the new cabinet was inexperienced and would be hard-pressed to turn the province around.

“While we congratulate the MECs on their appointments, and wish them well in their endeavours, we also know the challenges that lie ahead of them,” he said.

“Key areas of concern are the collapsing local government structures, with several municipalities across the province in dire need of urgent intervention, as well as the growing unemployment levels.

“The Eastern Cape has the highest unemployment rate in the country, at 37.4%.

“These cabinet members have their work cut [out] for them if they are to put the Eastern Cape back on a path that will create jobs and deliver quality services to the people of this province.”