Ramaphosa’s son Andile admits to how much Bosasa paid him – report

A News24 investigation has reportedly established that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s son Andile has finally admitted to the monthly amounts he received from controversial facilities management company Bosasa.

He claimed his advisory work for the company, now known as African Global Operations, saw him receiving about R2 million in total from Gavin Watson’s business after they put him on a monthly retainer. This reportedly related primarily to advisory work on projects in Africa that Andile Ramaphosa at one point claimed were worth billions, but then later said he did not know the actual value of.

His company was also contracted to carry out advisory work for a few government departments.

With the benefit of hindsight, however, Andile told the publication he regretted getting involved with Bosasa, especially because of the scrutiny that had arisen from his father’s rise to being the country’s number one citizen.

Read the full investigative report here.

The former auditor of Bosasa, Peet Venter, told the commission of inquiry into state capture on Tuesday that he found the now well-publicised payment of R500,000 the company apparently made to the foundation of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s son Andile in 2017 “strange”.

Venter told the commission that Bosasa’s CEO, Watson, instructed him to transfer the money to the foundation and that it was done on October 19, 2017.

Last year, DA leader Mmusi Maimane asked Ramaphosa a question in the National Assembly relating to a Bosasa payment of R500,000 to Andile, claiming he had evidence.

The president said he was aware of the business relationship Maimane was talking about but said it was legally instituted through a company Andile did business with.

The president said at the time that if it turned out his son had lied about the payments being illegal, he would hold him personally accountable.

Ramaphosa explained in his response to Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane that it was after the parliamentary Q&A session had ended that his adviser informed him that the account Maimane was referring to was not paid to Andile but into an attorney’s account used by the CR17 campaign to raise funds for his party election campaign. Ramaphosa claimed he and his campaign managers had made a “deliberate” decision not to be involved in fundraising activities, but to only address meetings and dinners with potential funders.

READ MORE: Ramaphosa explains why he’s had trouble returning the R500K to Gavin Watson

Bosasa has since tried to distance itself from the donation, claiming it was a personal one from Watson.

READ MORE: Bosasa distances itself from donation to Ramaphosa’s campaign

Venter told the commission on Tuesday that Watson had instructed him to make several payments from Miotto Trading and Advisory, a dormant company owned by Venter’s relative, which the former auditor used.

ALSO READ: Former Bosasa auditor was allegedly instructed to inflate invoices to get commissions

However, Venter said he could not question Watson on these payments as he would get upset, so he carried out the instructions even though he knew this was wrong.

Venter said he paid the R500,000 payment to “efg2”, into an ABSA bank account, and that he was “merely told it was for a foundation/trust of Andile Ramaphosa”. Ramaphosa was deputy to then president Jacob Zuma at the time.

“I found this strange but wouldn’t dare question Mr Watson,” Venter told the commission.

Venter said he did not know what the R500,000 payment was for and that he had been surprised when Andile Ramaphosa’s name was mentioned “because I wasn’t aware of what the relationship was; why would Mr Watson make a payment to” Ramaphosa’s son?

Venter told the commission the R500,000 came from Watson’s personal account into Miotto and was then transferred to beneficiary “efg2”.

Venter said Watson had told him the payment was for Andile Ramaphosa and had no other information.

In Miotto’s books, the payment to young Ramaphosa was referenced as “payment coming in, payment going out because there was no real purpose for that payment, no services were rendered” for it, Venter said.

No further payments were made either from Miotto or by Venter to the beneficiary “efg2”, he told the commission.

(Additional reporting, Vhahangwele Nemakonde, Charles Cilliers, Gopolang Chawane)

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