Ramaphosa denies Shanduka ‘dubious tender’ allegations

President Cyril Ramaphosa says recent media reports of a complaint of corruption against him that has been reportedly been made at the Sandton police station are false.

This after it was alleged that the Free State Department of Education gave his former company  a “dubious tender” for the construction of a school.

“While the newspaper report is not clear on the details of the complaint, the report contains glaring inaccuracies and a clear misrepresentation of facts,” said the President on Saturday.

He said Shanduka Group never received a tender for the construction of any schools in the Free State.

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The company has never operated in the construction industry, he said.

The President further placed on record that:

• He was neither a director nor a shareholder in Shanduka Group in 2015, at the time he was alleged to have “persuaded” the provincial department to award the non-existent contract. He exited the business in November 2014.
• The Shanduka Foundation, a non-profit organisation established by Ramaphosa in 2002, has made substantial contributions to the development of township and rural schools. (The Shanduka Foundation is now the Cyril Ramaphosa Foundation.)
• In 2013 the Shanduka Foundation committed R100 million to a school development project in the Free State alongside Kagiso Trust (which also made a R100 million commitment) and the Free State Department of Education (which made a commitment to match these contributions).

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• This project, originally known as the Kagiso Shanduka Trust and now simply as KST, has to date facilitated the contribution of around R280 million from foundations and private sector donors to schools in the Free State.
• Neither Ramaphosa nor any companies in which he held interests has ever received any benefit from school construction in the Free State or anywhere else in the country. On the contrary, both Ramaphosa and Shanduka have made substantial financial contributions towards the construction and development of schools.

-Compiled by Vhahangwele Nemakonde