Background to the BOSASA (African Global) Payments made to Andile Ramaphosa:
On 6 November DA Leader Mmusi Maimane asked President Cyril Ramaphosa about a payment made to the President’s son for R500 000 by BOSASA CEO Gavin Watson – part of Port Elizabeth’s Watson Family. BOSASA recently rebranded as African Global. The BOSASSA [African Global] Group has family ties to Port Elizabeth via the Group CEO, Gavin Watson who founded the group. The beleaguered Eastern Province Rugby’s former CEO, Cheeky Watson is Gavin’s brother. (See: Bosasa Contract Details with Ramaphosa must be released)
Watch the 6 November 2018 clip below as Ramaphosa outlines his close ‘interrogation’ of his son around this payment and admission that he had “seen the contract” between Andile and Watson.
On 16 November President Cyril Ramaphosa, in a letter, backtracked on his response he gave before the National Assembly over the payment.
The October 2017 payment was actually a donation towards his ANC presidential campaign which Ramaphosa states was made without his knowledge.
This emerged in a letter Ramaphosa drafted to the speaker of the National Assembly dated 14 November, saying he had inadvertently provided incorrect information in his response.
In reply to the “BOSASA Bactrack” by President Ramaphosa, Mmusi Maimane – Leader of the Democratic Alliance released a statement saying; “We need a full investigation into Ramaphosa’s Bosasa payments”
Maimane went on to say:
“In a letter to Speaker Mbete, President Ramaphosa has admitted that he received a R500 000 campaign donation from Bosasa, during his campaign for the presidency of the ANC. He has clarified that what initially looked like a dodgy payment to his son, Andile, was in fact a dodgy payment to him.
The fact is that this requires a full investigation into the Ramaphosa family’s relationship with Bosasa. This investigation should cover all payments made to any member of the Ramaphosa family from Bosasa and African Global Operations, and should cover the business relationship between Bosasa and the President’s son. The President should come clean and disclose all payments received by him, his family, and his campaign by Bosasa. We need to find out: Did Ramaphosa solicit the donation? Are contracts awarded to Bosasa payback for their support for the President and his family? These questions can only be answered by a full investigation in Ramaphosa’s family dealings with Bosasa.
His now-standard defence that he “didn’t know” is wearing thin. He claims not to have known about state capture when it was happening right in front of him, and now he claims not to have known about this dodgy payment to his own campaign.
President Ramaphosa may be able to claim that he only found out about VBS too late, but he can’t run from Bosasa quite so easily. Just like VBS, this is another example of how the ANC’s web of corruption works. A company (Bosasa) receives billions in state tenders, then pays bribes to senior ANC figures, and donates money to the ANC and its candidates through hard-to-track trust accounts, all the while looting public money meant for services to the poor.
Only a full investigation and full disclosure by the President will begin to unstitch this web of corruption. The DA will continue our fight to rid South Africa of corruption.”
The EFF Commander in Chief, Julius Malema, had this to say about the President “lying”:
MORE READING: Inaction on Bosasa corruption speaks louder than words | Criminal charges laid over alleged Bosasa kickbacks | The Mti, Watson, BOSASA Connection | SAPS must lay charges against Linda Mti and prosecution must commence | Hawks to investigate Linda Mti; a great victory for the people of NMB | String of lies exposed as government agencies rally to protect Linda Mti | Linda Mti belongs in jail, not protected by Danny Jordaan.
Alan Straton
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