Agrizzi’s code system for Bosasa bribes revealed

As more names of department of correctional services (DCS) officials involved in the facilities management company’s bribes-for-tender scandal surfaced at the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture, Bosasa’s former chief operating officer, Angelo Agrizzi, yesterday explained how the coding he designed, aimed at protecting beneficiaries, worked.

According to Agrizzi – on the seventh day of giving testimony to the commission – to protect the identity of those who benefitted, the coding which reflected on each money bag had the initials of each official, the name of the courier (one of the Bosasa directors) responsible for delivering the cash and the amount.

Depending on the role they played to ensure that Bosasa won the tenders at DCS, the amounts officials received varied from R10 000 to R50 000 a month.

Among those Agrizzi paid in 2016 were contracts manager Josiah Maako (R15 000); Maria Mabena and Shishi Matabela, who were responsible for catering and development (R10 000 each); head of procurement Dikeledi Tshabalala (R15 000); head of finance Mollet Ngubo (R15 000) and commissioner Zack Modise (R20 000).

“The coding, which was constantly changed, was done clandestinely between myself and colleague Jacques van Zyl, so that nobody could point out the person being bribed.

“I would list people to be paid, give that to Jacques and the code would only be known to the person I was giving the money in the bag to. That would be one of Bosasa’s directors who would be told his stuff is ready to be picked up.

“The black book which had a list of the names of those who received bribes was kept in [Bosasa CEO] Gavin Watson’s vault. He would check on who was paid and he then did a reconciliation.

“The officials would be paid for as long as the contract they helped us to win, was still in place,” explained Agrizzi.

In terms of the coding, MMM represented Ngubo, IMM (Ishmael Nqwaba), MMB (Mabena), SSS (Matabela), KLA (Papa Leshabane), CCV (bulk amount for Leshabane to distribute to officials bribed), GJM (Bosasa chair Joe Gumede), JM (Josiah Makoe) and JM (Tshabalala).

“Jacques would pack the money, Gavin would decide on who to pay and I would do verifications with directors, who would deliver the money,” said Agrizzi.

Leshabane, said Agrizzi, was responsible for payments to Modise and the R71 000 a month distributed to “people from the Lindela Repatriation Centre and among journalists who had to write positive stories”.

Agrizzi could not give names of journalists he implicated.

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