Illustrative image | DA Shadow MEC Mike Moriarty. (Photo: Gallo Images / Sharon Seretlo) | MEC Lebogang Maile. (Photo: Gallo Images / Fani Mahuntsi) 
DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Economic Development Mike Moriarty and Gauteng MEC for Finance and Economic Development Lebogang Maile are engaged in a tense political and legal spat after Moriarty refused to comply with a demand to retract allegations made against the MEC in a 25 November 2025 press release.
In the release, Moriarty claimed that Maile knew of corruption and money laundering by the former CEO of the Gauteng Gambling Board but chose not to act. In response, the MEC sent a written demand for the DA to retract its statement within 48 hours, claiming it is “riddled with falsehoods and misrepresentations”, and indicating that he was weighing his legal options.
The allegations originate from a 2021 forensic report submitted to the Office of the Premier. This report detailed evidence that in 2020, the former CEO, Dr Steven Ngubeni, unlawfully took out a loan from the Gauteng Gambling Board. A nonprofit organisation named Intsika Yo Sizo (also known as Pink Toast) then allegedly paid off the loan for him.
Subsequently, the Gauteng Gambling Board paid the nonprofit back using funds recovered from fining illegal gambling operators. At the time the allegations surfaced, Ngubeni was placed under precautionary suspension with full pay. He eventually reached an undisclosed settlement and has since been appointed as the head of the Department for Human Settlements in Ekurhuleni.
‘Weak on corruption’
These details were highlighted in Moriarty’s 25 November press statement. Moriarty pointed out that Maile had confirmed that the Premier’s Office received the 2021 report, yet no criminal charges had been filed. The DA is demanding the full loan and settlement amounts be disclosed and that criminal charges be filed against all parties that were involved.
The DA statement accused the MEC of a “weak approach to corruption” that allows senior officials to avoid accountability, which is “crippling Gauteng’s provincial departments and entities”. It further warned that the MEC “risks being criminally liable in terms of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act for ignoring corruption”.
The DA’s statement was a response to a written reply to the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, in which Maile confirmed the forensic report’s findings of unlawful corruption and money laundering.
Maile stated in the reply that Ngubeni was charged on 20 July 2021, and that a “well-calculated” settlement was later approved. Crucially, the written reply did not detail the loan or settlement amounts, stated that no money had yet been recovered, and left Maile unable to confirm whether criminal charges had been filed against any of the involved parties.
Maile ‘falsely accused’
Maile argued that the DA had falsely implied he was “complicit in the unethical and unlawful act of concealing and aiding corruption” in the Gauteng Gambling Board case.
He stressed that he only became the MEC for Finance and Economic Development in July 2024, three years after Ngubeni’s suspension and settlement, and had no involvement in the matter at the time, as he was serving as the MEC for Human Settlements.
In a written statement, Maile asserted that Moriarty’s comments “misconstrue documented facts with the aim of tarnishing the image of MEC Maile and the Gauteng Provincial Government broadly”. He added that his office only received the forensic report in July 2025, as it was sealed following the settlement, and had since launched its own investigation.
He cited a press conference from June 2025 where he announced the appointment of a legal expert to investigate the allegations, stating that Moriarty was aware of this public information.
“It is for this reason that his assertion that the MEC is ‘ignoring corruption’ has no basis in fact and is intended solely for the purpose of political posturing, sensationalism and intention to cause harm to the person and office of the MEC,” Maile said.
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Moriarty, however, is not budging. In a written reply to questions by the Daily Maverick, he maintained that there had been a “wholly inadequate action” in response to evidence of a crime.
“As current MEC, he is responsible to ensure corruption does not take place within his department. When he formulated his reply, he became aware of corruption. In terms of [the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act] he should have decided to lay criminal charges and not turn a blind eye,” he said.
He further argued that the matter didn’t require a legal expert as it is straightforward.
In its reply to Maile’s legal letter refusing to comply with his request for a retraction and public apology, the DA argues that its statement constitutes fair comment. Maile has indicated that he is weighing his legal options, though no formal legal action has yet been taken. DM