Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Zweli Mkhize on Sunday denied that he ever facilitated a loan from the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) for a fee.
The Sunday Times reported that a letter of demand from a Johannesburg law firm exposed the alleged R4.5-million kickback for Mkhize and other ANC supporters for helping an oil company get a huge loan from the PIC.
The letter‚ dated October 2017‚ names Mkhize in a legal claim against Afric Oil‚ which describes itself as South Africa’s ‘first BEE fuel distribution company”‘
It claims that at a meeting at Luthuli House “sometime in early June 2016” a loan application to the PIC “was extensively discussed and the TG agreed to promote Afric Oil’s projects‚ including providing support for the facilitation of the PIC loan”.
It says a “fund-raising fee shall be shared among them”‚ with R4.5-million going to Mkhize. The loan was for R210-million.
The law firm claims to be acting for Zonkizizwe Investments, which it says is “wholly owned by the ANC”.
In a statement on Sunday‚ Mkhize called the allegations ridiculous and said: “I have never facilitated the said loan negotiations nor have I sought any ‘facilitation fee’ from the said company.”
He added that he would be seeking legal advice.
In a second statement, Mkhize said that during his tenure as the ANC treasurer-general he met with various companies who would brief him on their operations, strategies or plans. “This is no way meant that my intervention was required. At no stage did I enter into an agreement to facilitate loans for a fee,” he said,
[source: News24]
