The erstwhile Director-General of the Department of Human Settlements, Thabane Zulu, has defended a transaction of R600,000 paid to a Ballito car dealership. The deposit, he says, was ‘above board’ as Blackhead Consulting CEO Edwin Sodi owed Zulu money for alcohol purchased throughout the year. Blackhead and Diamond Hill formed a joint venture, which bagged a Free State asbestos project of more than R200-million. Five years on, the hazardous asbestos is still there.