Joburg ANC lauds Makhubo’s move to appear before integrity committee

The ANC Johannesburg region has come out in support of its chairperson and City of Johannesburg mayor, Geoff Makhubo, after his second appearance at the Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture on Monday.

The region patted Makhubo on the back for “cooperating with the commission and his willingness to subject himself to all processes”. It also welcomed Makhubo’s intention to appear before the party’s Gauteng provincial integrity committee.

“The RWC [regional working committee] further reaffirmed its regional executive committee [REC] decision that matters related to the regional chairperson [Makhubo] on the Zondo commission should be handled by the provincial executive committee [PEC] and therefore mandated the regional secretary [Dada Morero] to urgently write a letter to the PEC requesting that the PEC attend to this matter as a matter of urgency,” ANC Johannesburg said.

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This comes after revelations of alleged impropriety between the city, IT firm EOH and the ANC in Johannesburg, revealed on Monday.

Makhubo gave evidence relating to his tenure as the ANC Johannesburg regional treasurer – from 2008 to 2018, which allegedly solicited regular donations worth millions from EOH – among other companies, allegedly in exchange for tenders at the CoJ.

The region also said they had instructed its secretary “to conduct an inquiry with regard to all the finances purported to have been fundraised on behalf of the ANC as presented in the commission”.

DA offensive

The ANC Johannesburg region’s commendation of Makhubo comes after the Democratic Alliance (DA) announced earlier on Tuesday that it would lay charges against Makhubo and EOH.

In a statement released on Tuesday, DA Johannesburg caucus leader Leah Knott indicated that it was clear that Makhubo was guilty of bribery and corruption as he struggled to answer some questions during the commission’s proceedings.

“Yesterday’s [Monday’s] revelations at the Zondo commission confirm that our executive mayor, councillor Geoff Makhubo, is guilty of bribery and corruption and must face jail time for betraying the City of Johannesburg and its residents.

“I will be laying criminal charges against him and EOH for the corrupt SAP contract which has cost the city hundreds of millions, and will write to EOH to demand that they return all money paid to them by the city. I also call on the ANC in Gauteng to return the bribe money paid by EOH,” Knott said.

Additional reporting by Molefe Seeletsa