{"id":539551,"date":"2024-06-04T16:01:11","date_gmt":"2024-06-04T14:01:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=539551"},"modified":"2024-08-30T14:24:54","modified_gmt":"2024-08-30T12:24:54","slug":"eoh-corruption-set-to-sink-minister","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/enterprise\/539551-eoh-corruption-set-to-sink-minister.html","title":{"rendered":"EOH corruption set to sink minister"},"content":{"rendered":"

Minister of Sports, Arts, and Culture Zizi Kodwa is reportedly set to appear in the Palm Ridge magistrate\u2019s court this week on charges related to EOH corruption.<\/p>\n

Sunday World reported that former EOH executive Jehan Mackay, implicated in the same corruption, will also appear in court.<\/p>\n

The charges stem from information shared at the Zondo Commission in 2021 regarding corruption at EOH.<\/p>\n

Steven Powell, MD of ENSafrica\u2019s forensics department, said Kodwa received R2 million in payments and luxury accommodation from EOH while bidding for government tenders.<\/p>\n

Kodwa was linked to dubious payments from former EOH Mthombo executive Jehan Mackay related to government tenders.<\/p>\n

These payments include a R1 million \u201cloan\u201d that Kodwa received from Mackay, which he used to buy a Jeep. He never paid back the money.<\/p>\n

Powell said Kodwa was also paid R45,000 by EOH a day before Mackay asked him to intervene in a Home Affairs tender from which EOH was disqualified.<\/p>\n

It was a particularly lucrative tender, and Mackay\u2019s communication with Kodwa following the deposit looked like a plea.<\/p>\n

Not only did large payments into Kodwa\u2019s accounts link him to potential corrupt deals, but EOH also paid for exclusive accommodation in Cape Town.<\/p>\n

The accommodation was always ultra-luxurious and very expensive. All the apartments are in exclusive areas, like Fresnaye, Camps Bay, and Clifton.<\/p>\n

Powell said Kodwa particularly liked The Pentagon Villa in Clifton and returned for a 3-day stay, which cost R150,000. He also requested the services of a private chef, which cost R11,700.<\/p>\n

Kodwa admitted to receiving payments and luxury accommodation from EOH\u2019s Mackay but denied it was linked to influencing tenders.<\/p>\n

He also denied ever receiving requests from Mackay to influence how the state spent its money.<\/p>\n

Kodwa said he was not guilty of corruption. \u201cI have never engaged in corruption or facilitated corruption in my relationship with Mackay or any other person,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Kodwa in the firing line<\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/a>

Zizi Kodwa, Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture of South Africa<\/p><\/div>\n

The Sunday World report about Kodwa\u2019s imminent court appearance followed a report by Mail & Guardian that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) was close to charging him.<\/p>\n

The Mail & Guardian reported that the NPA was set to charge Kodwa with corruption and money laundering.<\/p>\n

It said the NPA was \u201cfine-tuning\u201d Kodwa\u2019s charge sheet before National Director of Public Prosecutions Shamila Batohi authorised the minister\u2019s prosecution.<\/p>\n

Citing NPA insiders, it reported that the case against Kodwa is strong and seen as low-hanging fruit because emails point to him influencing lucrative tenders.<\/p>\n

These emails allegedly show how Kodwa influenced contracts to be awarded to EOH while he was an ANC NEC member and the party\u2019s spokesperson.<\/p>\n

If Kodwa is indeed charged with corruption and money laundering, it can devastate his political career.<\/p>\n

Kodwa is a high-profile ANC stalwart and a close confidant of President Cyril Ramaphosa.<\/p>\n

He was appointed to Ramaphosa\u2019s cabinet as Minister of Sports, Arts, and Culture of the Republic of South Africa on 6 March 2023.<\/p>\n

Before that, he served as Deputy Minister of State Security. He is a member of the ANC\u2019s National Executive Committee and was the party\u2019s spokesperson from 2014 to 2017.<\/p>\n

Former ANC Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe said the party\u2019s \u201crules may be triggered\u201d if Kodwa is charged.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are clear guidelines and rules in the ANC. The step-aside rule says if you formally get charged, you have to step aside from whatever positions you occupy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, if the NPA is building a case against Minister Zizi Kodwa, we wait and see because we cannot be privy to that information and what they do.\u201d<\/p>\n

EOH suing Mackay and other former executives<\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/a>

Stephen van Coller, former EOH CEO<\/p><\/div>\n

In 2021, EOH announced it was suing its founder and former CEO, Asher Bohbot, and three other executives for a combined R6.4 billion.<\/p>\n

EOH had filed civil claims against Bohbot, former CFO John King, former EOH Mthombo executive Jehan Mackay, and former EOH International CEO Ebrahim Laher.<\/p>\n

These claims relate to damage inflicted on EOH because they failed to deal with corruption at the company.<\/p>\n

Former EOH CEO Stephen van Coller said the board decided to pursue the perpetrators to see if they could recover any of the money.<\/p>\n

He added that it also formed part of its remedial actions to avoid being placed on the National Treasury\u2019s restricted suppliers list.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a process my management team and I had to go through as the board feels they have to follow their fiduciary duties to the shareholders,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Apart from Bohbot, King, Mackay, and Laher, they were also going after other executives, a few companies, and their directors.<\/p>\n

He said the process involved an investigation, after which the findings were provided to Werksmans Attorneys for guidance.<\/p>\n

Werksmans responded with a way forward, which EOH acted on. \u201cIt is now over to the lawyers, and they must do their job,\u201d said Van Coller.<\/p>\n

There has not been much progress regarding this legal case, and the company admitted that it would unlikely recover the money.<\/p>\n

King passed way shortly after EOH announced that it was instituting legal action against the executives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A high-profile minister linked to EOH corruption is reportedly set to appear in court to face the music.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":539557,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"idle","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"","_sma_facebook_post_id":"","_sma_instagram_post_id":"","_sma_threads_post_id":"","_sma_x_attempts":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[57364],"tags":[6428,35,67824,94025,25905],"class_list":["post-539551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-enterprise","tag-eoh","tag-headline","tag-jehan-mackay","tag-shamila-batohi","tag-zizi-kodwa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/539551"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=539551"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/539551\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":558174,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/539551\/revisions\/558174"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/539557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=539551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=539551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=539551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}