Malatsi quits govt job
2003-01-30 14:04
Pretoria - David Malatsi officially resigned as deputy social development minister on Thursday, said presidential spokesperson Bheki Khumalo.
"Mr Malatsi submitted his letter of resignation to the director-general in the presidency, the Rev Frank Chikane, a short while ago," said Khumalo at 13:00.
The letter was hand-delivered by Malatsi himself to the presidency in Pretoria, he said.
"The letter will be forwarded to the president for his attention."
Malatsi undertook on Tuesday to resign after New National Party leader Marthinus van Schalkwyk implicated him and former Western Cape premier Peter Marais in corruption.
The scandal surrounded granting of an application for the development of the multimillion-rand Roodefontein golf estate near Plettenberg Bay.
According to Van Schalkwyk, developer Count Ricardo Agusta donated R300 000 to the NNP in April last year at Marais's request.
Didn't want to embarrass government
The NNP leader claimed Malatsi, who was provincial environmental affairs MEC at the time, approved the application soon afterwards.
Marais and Malatsi have both asserted that Van Schalkwyk had known of the donation.
At the weekend, the NNP leader said Agusta had paid a further R100 000 into Malatsi's constitutional office account.
Both Marais and Malatsi were suspended from the NNP last week.
On Tuesday, Malatsi announced that he would go to Pretoria on Wednesday to resign as deputy minister "because I want to clear my name and I don't want to embarrass the government and the president".
However, he did so only on Thursday.
- SAPA