Ex-premier's wealth probed

2004-08-07 21:05

MAKHUDU SEFARA

President Thabo Mbeki is likely to accept Bulelani Ngcuka's resignation as national director of public prosecutions, but his successor is unlikely to be former Limpopo premier Ngoako Ramatlhodi.
A City Press investigation has found that a mysterious house in a plush suburb - valued at R1,3 million but bought by Ramatlhodi for R1,1 million - is a major obstacle to his appointment.

City Press has established that Ramatlhodi has no bond on the house.

The house, in Pretoria East, is the second addition to the former premier's property portfolio of an estimated R10 million. He also owns a three-storey house located at the foot of the Magoebaskloof mountain in Limpopo valued at R7 million.

Ramatlhodi bought the Magoebaskloof house for about R1 million and has a bond with Absa over it. He also owns two Mercedes-Benz vehicles and a Range Rover, all acquired last year.

In an interview with City Press yesterday, Ramatlhodi pleaded poverty and said he did "not have (unexplained) wealth". He lived from "hand-to-mouth", but admitted that he owned valuable property.

"It's true that I have no bond on the house in Pretoria," Ramatlhodi said. "I got it in a normal way, though. I have a bond for the house in Magoebaskloof, so I financed this one (in Pretoria) through an access bond."

He said he initially paid R1,3 million for the house but was given back R200 000 by the seller because the house was located "in an area that was still being developed".

Ramatlhodi was being probed for possible corruption by Cornwell Tshavhungwa, a prosecutor with the Scorpions who was later arrested and suspended.

A spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Makhosini Nkosi, said the NPA had a policy of not commenting on investigations. "We neither confirm nor deny investigations," he said.

Asked if Tshavhungwa once investigated Ramatlhodi, Nkosi said: "All I am prepared to say about Advocate Cornwell Tshavhungwa is that all cases he handled are being reviewed in the light of allegations against him and his subsequent arrest. This does not confirm the existence of any investigation into the former premier, nor that such an investigation would have been handled by Tshavhungwa," he said.

Tshavhungwa is expected to appear in theSpecialised Commercial Crimes Court in Pretoria on August 23 on charges of corruption following allegations that he accepted bribes from officials of the Mpumalanga Economic Empowerment Corporation.

Tshavhungwa's assets, estimated at R2 million, were seized by the assets forfeiture unit at his R1,4 million house in Rivonia, Johannesburg.

City Press understands there are three major causes for concern about the eligibility of Ramatlhodi - estimated to have earned around R850 000 annually while premier - for Ngcuka's post:

 the purchase of the house in Pretoria;

 that his wealth appears to be out of proportion to his earnings; and

 that he was too closely associated with people who gained from government property tenders when he was premier.

One of these is Greek businessman Jimmy Kourtombellides, who is known to have donated generously to the ANC in the province and who received government tenders worth about R200 million since 1994.

Kourtombellides built a village for members of the provincial legislature at a cost of about R30 million. He also received more than R40 million in two out-of-court settlements when he sued the province for reneging on a contract to build a complex for the province.

He then billed Limpopo for "professional services" he claimed were rendered relating to the complex. He was paid an additional amount in excess of R45 million, even though not a single brick was laid.

The provincial legislature authorised the amount last year and said the government had received "value for money" - much to the chagrin of powerless opposition parties.

Kourtombellides also built the building that houses the safety and security department - for a hefty R18 million.

The tourism component of the provincial department of finance and tourism, headed by MEC Thaba Mufamadi, is currently housed in a fairly new multi-storey complex known as Ismini Towers and built by companies directly or indirectly owned by Kourtombellides.

Ramatlhodi and Mufamadi are suing the magazine Noseweek for claiming they got kickbacks arising from the province's multi-million-rand social security tender.

Reluctantly explaining his wealth, Ramatlhodi said people should not be surprised at what he had. Referring to his luxury vehicles, he said they were "old cars" which had done over 200 000 km. He had used his own vehicles for official work and claimed for the distance travelled: "Obviously, the bigger the engine, the more the money."

He said his wife, Ouma, was a director of a few companies and was also earning some income through employment. "We did not just sit  . . . and depend solely on the premier's salary."

- City Press