Contrary to rumours, Ramaphosa ‘did not visit Tembisa Hospital tender tycoon’s home’

The Presidency has firmly denied “falsehoods that have been spread through a video” that, in September 2023, President Cyril Ramaphosa visited Hangwani Morgan Maumela, the businessman now implicated in the Tembisa Hospital medical equipment procurement corruption scandal, at his home in Hyde Park, Johannesburg.

On Friday, the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) revealed it had seized R133.5-million worth of assets in a raid linked to a syndicate allegedly tied to tender tycoon Maumela.

Then social media posts and images surfaced alleging Ramaphosa had visited Maumela’s home two years ago.

Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya devoted most of a media briefing on Monday, 13 October, to denying this visit and also to providing an extensive catalogue of all the measures the President has taken to fight corruption since taking office.

Inquiry submissions

He also said that when the Presidency gives evidence to the Madlanga Commission, and to the parliamentary ad-hoc committee inquiry – both investigating police corruption – “one of the key points that we will assert is that at no point in time did the President, or the Presidency for that matter, seek to interfere or attempt to interfere with the operations of the South African Police Service and we will be able to substantiate that assertion”.

He said that “we are also aware that at some point, as the Presidency, we will need to make our own submission to both forums”, though he said that he was not aware whether President Ramaphosa would be called to testify by the ad-hoc committee as no evidence had been led against him, though there had been a reference to the Presidency.

The President’s walk

On the Maumela issue, Magwenya said the video circulating on social media, which was recorded on 29 September 2023, showed Ramaphosa, with radio DJ Tbo Touch, Bishop Noel Jones and Jomo Sibiya, who was then the special adviser to Ramaphosa, but is now Deputy Minister of Employment and Labour.

“It is well known that President Ramaphosa loves to walk whenever he finds time; that is how he keeps himself fit. On this day, he had invited Mr Sibiya on a walk, which is something he does regularly, to invite his staff, even ministers, for walks.

“They passed a house which is now well known as Maumela’s house. As they were passing this house, they were stopped by Tbo Touch, who was in the company of his mentor and friend, Bishop Noel Jones. They took pictures and recorded a video. During the walk, the President had stopped and spoke to several people along the way, including taking pictures with those people.

“Indeed, where you see them is in front of Maumela’s house, but they were not visiting the house or coming out of the house. It so happened that Tbo Touch stopped his car to greet the President as he was walking past what is now well known as Maumela’s house. The President did not even know whose house it was.”

He said Ramaphosa regularly walked or drove past Maumela’s house because it was not too far from his own house in Hyde Park. Magwenya said claims on social media that Ramaphosa visited Maumela’s house every week were “a complete lie”.

‘No personal relationship’

“President Ramaphosa maintains that he has no personal relationship with Maumela. He is not related to him except that he was once married to Maumela’s aunt. We note the ongoing desperate media attempts to link the President to this gentleman.”

He insisted that “it was President Ramaphosa that signed the proclamation that has lifted the lid on the extent of the corruption and criminality in and around the Tembisa Hospital.”

He said Ramaphosa had called on all law enforcement agencies to accelerate their criminal investigations into the Tembisa Hospital matter to expedite arrests.

Anti-corruption reforms

He said that under Ramaphosa’s leadership, the government “had implemented the most comprehensive set of anti-corruption reforms since 1994”.

Magwenya then delivered a lengthy catalogue of such reforms, including the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture; the Nugent Commission of Inquiry into SARS; and the Mufamadi Panel on the misuse of the State Security Agency for political and personal purposes, and recommended structural reforms.

Magwenya said the Presidency established a public monitoring mechanism to track the implementation of these recommendations and published regular progress reports.

Magwenya cited other anti-corruption measures by Ramaphosa, which included:

• The National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS), adopted in 2020  to coordinate anti-corruption efforts across government, business and civil society;
• The National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council (Nacac), established in 2022, which had just recommended the creation of a permanent, independent anti-corruption authority;
• The Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (Idac) in the NPA;
• The Fusion Centre, a multi-agency platform linking the NPA, SIU, Hawks, FIC and SARS to improve coordination; and
• Accessing private sector forensic expertise to assist with complex financial and procurement investigations.

Magwenya noted that 96 accused persons and entities were currently before the court, from State Capture Commission referrals, and 232 additional prosecutions had been initiated through Idac investigations.

Magwenya was asked why South Africans were not seeing the prosecutions and conviction of any politically connected persons mentioned by the Zondo Commission, and why a number of ANC members cited had been appointed to the Cabinet.

He said Ramaphosa was observing due process as some of those individuals, particularly Cabinet ministers, had taken the Zondo Commission report on review, “and until such time as those processes are concluded, it is difficult for the President to reach any conclusion with respect to the findings and recommendations made against those individuals”.

Among Ramaphosa’s other anti-corruption measures cited by Magwenya were:

• The Special Tribunal, established in 2019 to fast-track civil litigation arising from SIU investigations;
• Mandatory public service integrity and lifestyle audits for senior and middle management public servants and those involved in procurement and supply chain management;
• Leadership renewal at SARS, the NPA and the intelligence services to correct problems identified by inquiries; and
• The launch of a FATF Action Plan to strengthen anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing controls.

“South Africa has met all technical requirements and awaits FATF’s final assessment for removal from the grey list,” Magwenya said.

The measures included beneficial ownership lists to establish the true owners of business entities and legislative and policy measures, which include the Political Party Funding Act, the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act (Precca) Reforms, the Public Procurement Act, and the Whistleblower Protection Framework.

Magwenya said boards and executives at a range of state-owned corporations, such as Eskom, Transnet, Prasa, Denel, SAA, and the National Lotteries Commission, had been reconstituted to counter corruption.

In addition, the SIU, Idac and the Special Tribunal were pursuing major civil and criminal cases relating to procurement irregularities and inflated contracts.

He also cited actions, including:

• Contract audits and referrals involving Eskom coal and maintenance procurement;
• Prosecutions and asset recoveries related to Transnet locomotive and port contracts;
• Financial recovery from irregular Prasa rolling stock and signalling projects;
• Restructuring and investigation of historic Denel procurement irregularities;
• Forensic reviews of SAA legacy contracts; and
• Leadership and governance reforms at the National Lotteries Commission following investigations.

Magwenya said civil settlements and prosecutions involving suppliers and consultants implicated in SOE corruption were under way. DM