The conclusions of Parliament’s ethics committee on the VBS Mutual Bank issue have raised suspicions. While EFF deputy president Floyd Shivambu was chastised for his role, party president Julius Malema was strangely spared.
It all started when DA leader John Steenhuisen filed a complaint against Malema, accusing him of taking advantage of VBS funding through Mahuna Investments.
Malema was also accused of failing to report this advantage in his declarations of interest for 2017 and 2018. It further claimed that Malema exploited VBS depositors’ savings and municipal funding to fuel his extravagant lifestyle, business interests, and political ambitions.
[ EFF Deputy President Floyd Shivambu Failed To Disclose Payments From VBS Bank ]
Furthermore, the accusation claimed that Malema was part in a plot to disguise the funds’ origin and eventual beneficiary. It further accused him of lying to Parliament about his ties to Mahuna Investments.
The acting Registrar of Members’ Interests requested Malema’s answer in response to these severe allegations.
Malema responded by dismissing the charges as false and unproven. He denied any connection to Mahuna Investments and dismissed the complaint as “newspaper junk.”
In the meantime, the ethics committee resolved to summon the liquidator engaged in the VBS case to present a full report on money flow.
The liquidator’s report from August 2021 stated that Sgameka Projects Pty Ltd had moved a considerable amount to Mahuna Investments’ ABSA bank account. However, the investigation revealed that Malema did not have a bank account with VBS, calling the claims against him into question.
Finally, the committee determined that there was insufficient information to issue a breach finding against Malema. As a result, they closed the file on his case.
In contrast, Shivambu was chastised for failing to declare three VBS bank transfers made to him by Sgameka Projects Pty Ltd in 2017. The liquidator provided the committee with an affidavit that confirmed these payments.
The sentence issued on Shivambu, according to Committee co-chairperson Bekizwe Nkosi, was based only on non-disclosure and not on any other matters under investigation by law enforcement agencies.
As a result, Shivambu was sentenced to nine days in jail, which the committee found acceptable for the non-disclosure offense.
The EFF, on the other hand, reacted angrily to the committee’s findings. Sinawo Tambo, the national spokesman, called the conclusion that Shivambu received an undisclosed donation “false and detached from reality.”
Tambo stated that Shivambu would go to court to appeal the committee’s judgment, claiming that Parliament had no authority to dispute loans between individuals.
As the repercussions from the ethics committee’s findings unfold, it remains to be seen how Shivambu’s legal battle will play out. The scandal involving VBS Mutual Bank and its impact on South African politics is far from done.
