NPA attaches assets of ANC MP
2012-10-26 21:04
Johannesburg - The NPA on Friday obtained an order to attached assets worth about R24m belonging to a National Assembly portfolio committee chair.
The Asset Forfeiture Unit obtained the order in the Northern Cape High Court against ANC MP Yolanda Botha, the National Prosecuting Authority said in a statement.
Botha chairs the social development portfolio committee.
The unit successfully argued that Botha disregarded tender procedures while she was head of social development in the Northern Cape, and signed lease agreements that benefited a company called Trifecta Investment Holdings.
"In return, Trifecta made renovations to her house. The value of the renovations is estimated at R1.2m," the NPA said.
The lease agreements were costing the government about R3m a month, with some coming to an end only in 2017.
Botha allegedly approved decisions that went against the bid adjudication committee's recommendations.
She changed the duration of some lease agreements to 10 years from five, and overruled the departmental legal adviser's judgment that the leases be cancelled.
The leases are for buildings rented by the North Cape department of social development in Springbok, Kuruman, Douglas and Kimberley.
The attachment order was granted against Botha's house in Kimberley and her 10 percent shareholding in Trifecta.
The shares had been transferred from the company to a trust controlled by Botha's relatives.
The NPA said Botha had told Parliament's joint committee on ethics and members' interests that she only received a R500 000 loan from the company.
The committee found in August 2011 that there was an improper and corrupt relationship between Botha and Trifecta.
- SAPA
