Sexwale v Sisulu
2011-07-10 16:45
Adriaan Basson, City Press
Johannesburg - Tokyo Sexwale, the human settlements minister, has been accused of using the fight against corruption to tarnish his predecessor Lindiwe Sisulu’s image, as well as people close to her.
This comes after Sexwale’s blistering attack on Sipho Mashinini – the chief executive of the National Homebuilders Registration Council (NHBRC) – and corruption-buster Vanessa Somiah in Parliament.
Several sources close to the fallout said the ANC’s succession battle is at the core of the fracas in the housing department.
A source with intimate knowledge of the fallout said: "Remember that both Tokyo and Lindiwe are in the running to become Kgalema's [Motlanthe, the deputy president] deputy in Mangaung."
Motlanthe has recently been punted as a possible successor to President Jacob Zuma at the ANC’s national conference in Mangaung, Free State, next year.
In a strongly-worded statement released on Saturday, Sexwale hit back at his critics, saying nothing will make him retreat from “pursuing people who have acted in a questionable manner, hoping to muddle issues by concealing themselves and their evil deeds behind innocent ministers such as the previous housing minister Lindiwe Sisulu”.
'Fabrications'
Sexwale slammed those saying he was attempting to embarrass Sisulu, calling these claims laughable “fabrications”.
Sexwale’s own presidential ambitions are increasingly being scuppered by internal ructions in the ANC and he has apparently settled on being second in charge.
Sexwale, who is also a multi-millionaire businessman - with interests in the mining, energy and services sectors - has been hard at work building an image of a corruption fighter committed to cleaning up the housing sector.
In 2009, he even spent a night in Diepsloot, where he slept in a shack.
But lately he has been hurt by reports about housing targets not being met and was criticised by his colleague, Co-operative Governance Minister Sicelo Shiceka, for not accepting the blame for the open toilets scandal.
Sexwale – flanked by special investigating unit SIU head Willie Hofmeyr – earlier came out with guns blazing against Somiah and Mashinini, accusing them of "whitewashing" an investigation into alleged irregularities at the NHBRC, the building industry’s regulatory body.
'Collusion'
The minister also accused them of collusion because Somiah was appointed by Mashinini and the NHBRC board in April to head investigations at the council.
The SIU probe targeted Mashinini and the council’s former chairperson, Granny Seape.
Both were appointed by former housing minister Lindiwe Sisulu and are seen as her allies.
Seape is believed to have told the SIU that she had permission from Sisulu to conduct business with the council even though she was the non-executive chairperson.
Her lawyer, Peter Tshisevhe, said on Friday that they had asked Sexwale for a copy of the SIU report, the terms of reference and the presidential proclamation under which the investigation was conducted.
Sisulu’s spokesperson Ndivhuwo Mabaya said that the chairperson position was not a full-time one and that Sisulu had followed the council’s rules when she appointed Seape.
"Granny was not a full-time employee of the NHBRC. Any other person who is not a full-time employee would be given permission to do business. As chair, she only had to attend four or five meetings a year," said Mabaya.
City Press understands that Somiah’s report clears both Mashinini and Seape, citing Sisulu’s approval for them to conduct their private businesses while serving on the board and working for the NHBRC.
Interview
In an exclusive interview with City Press, Somiah said the only issue raised with her by Hofmeyr had been why she hadn't interviewed Sisulu.
She said Sexwale had contacted Hofmeyr after receiving the report in February, asking the SIU head why Sisulu hadn't been interrogated.
But Hofmeyr denied being contacted by Sexwale about it, saying that he had raised the issue with Somiah himself.
The SIU has subsequently decided to reopen the investigation into Mashinini and Seape.
Mashinini also lashed out at Sexwale, accusing him of interfering in the affairs of an “independent regulator [the NHBRC]” and for being more concerned about his public image than the building industry.
Mashinini, who has taken leave from his job, said: “Sexwale has not visited the NHBRC for the past 24 months.
"When he came in [as minister] he demolished all Sisulu’s houses and took out full-page advertisements . . . Tokyo wants to send a message that people are doing bad things and he is the good one.”
In 2009, the ANC expressed its concern about Sexwale and Sisulu’s relationship after a public spat over projects Sisulu had initiated during her tenure.
Read Sexwale's full response