Agusta's money not yet repaid

2003-02-05 17:51

Cape Town - The New National Party said on Wednesday that a R300 000 donation linked to the controversial Roodefontein golf estate development would not be immediately returned to Italian billionaire Count Ricardo Agusta.

NNP legal services director Dirk Bakker said Sapa the Asset Forfeiture Unit and the Scorpions had requested the NNP to keep the money with the "well-known Cape Town lawyers", where it was being held in trust.

"I have given the undertaking that the amount will be held back," Bakker said.

The lawyers had been instructed not to pay the money back to Count Agusta.

Bakker said he would "send a letter" to Agusta on Thursday, and discuss the issue with him in due course.

Agusta is apparently out of the country.

NNP leader, and Western Cape premier, Marthinus van Schalkwyk vowed on January 21 that the donation, allegedly given to the party as a kick-back for approval of the development, would be returned within 10 days.

Malatsi

David Malatsi resigned as deputy social development minister last week for his role in the scandal.

He allegedly pushed through approval for Augusta while the Western Cape environment MEC. This was after Malatsi and former Western Cape premier Peter Marais met the developers and after receipt of the donation.

The two senior NNP politicians have been suspended by the party.

Democratic Alliance provincial environment spokesperson Robin Carlisle said in a statement on Tuesday that until Van Schalkwyk followed through on his undertaking to return the funds, it was merely a "PR exercise".

The NNP should also reveal what it had done with a R100 000 donation allegedly deposited by Agusta into Malatsi's Khayelitsha constituency account.

Bakker said that donation was part of an investigation by the national Directorate of Public Prosecutions and would be dealt with once the probe was complete.

- SAPA