Mokonyane’s ‘Ben 10’ running her department – report

Earlier this month EFF leader Julius Malema tweeted a picture of Luvo Makasi, writing that he was “running the water affairs in this country, if you want to be paid or tender his the man 2 speak 2 otherwise u won’t succeed”.

On Sunday morning, City Press has now reported that the 32-year-old “orders” her staff around and even attends senior management meetings, going as far as to give orders to her director-general.

The water affairs department has been facing serious hurdles and City Press reported last week that it is approaching bankruptcy, which it subsequently denied.

He has involved himself in everything from water affairs tenders to giving legal opinions to the department through his law firm, Boqwana Burns.

According to one official City Press spoke to, “Luvo” and “Mama” Mokonyane were “very close” and were allegedly always together. Malema said in a press conference last year that “Nomvula likes them young”. Mokonyane’s response was that she would “not respond to Malema’s stupidity”.

“They travelled together to Iran and New York,” City Press quotes the source as saying.

A “Mokonyane associate” told the paper it was “shocking” that Makasi could treat the most senior officials in the department as his juniors.”

The department’s spokesperson said that the minister had a “political and professional” relationship with Makasi, but he was not an employee of the department.

A whistle-blower’s letter distributed last week on Twitter by Malema alleges Makasi received more than R35 million in kickbacks from a R950 million IT system he allegedly facilited, but “which the department does not need” and which several senior officials advised against.

Makasi reportedly did not respond in time to a list of questions sent to him.

The department’s spokesperson has insisted the IT system cost R450 million, not R950 million, and maintained that they really did need it.