Africa-Press – South-Africa. Former ANC spokesperson and national executive committee (NEC) member Pule Mabe says services were delivered to the Gauteng government in the R27m tender regarding which he faces fraud and money laundering charges.
Mabe stepped down from the NEC amid the unfolding case.
Last week he and his wife Mmatlhekelo were released on R30,000 bail facing 16 counts of fraud, money laundering and contraventions of the Public Finance Management Act.
The charges stem from a R27m tender awarded to Enviro Mobi by the Gauteng department of agriculture and rural development in March 2017. Mabe was a director of the company.
The tender involved supplying 200 three-wheel waste collection vehicles, known as tuk-tuks, for waste pickers in Ekurhuleni.
On Tuesday night during an interview on SABC, Mabe disputed the allegations about non-delivery of the vehicles.
“My understanding and knowledge is 200 vehicles have been delivered to Suikerbos, 156 were delivered all at once. Four of those vehicles were delivered as part of the launch that took place in Thembisa in 2017,” Mabe told the SABC.
He said the court confirmed the vehicles’ delivery, adding the non-delivery claims were misleading.
“There would have been numerous times where Enviro Mobi would have reached out to the department to take delivery of the vehicles. The department at the time did not take delivery because they would not have had sufficient space for storage and myriad other reasons they would have raised.”
Mabe said he aimed to clarify his involvement in the matter and address wrongful allegations against him.
“To clarify this, Enviro Mobi did not keep the cars at its yard by force. Enviro Mobi made the department aware their cars are there. I’m not the spokesperson of the department, the department can speak for itself. I came in so I can clarify the issues that relate to my own activities in this instance and also rebut some of the wrongful allegations,” he said.
He distanced himself from claims regarding financial transactions involving his wife.
“Enviro Mobi is not my company. I resigned. My wife provided a number of services. She has the invoices on all those services.”
He insisted the transactions were legitimate. “Let’s first establish, were these monies a source of a crime? Certainly no.”
Mabe maintained the government received value for the money spent.
“All these things are far-fetched because at the time when these payments were being made, the vehicles were there. Letters were written to the department to come and take possession of the vehicles. Beneficiaries were trained on how to operate the vehicles. We did not wear any balaclavas, hide our identity and say to someone, ‘pay us money’.
“When we get to court, we’ll have the opportunity to [depose] our understanding and share our own evidence.”
Mabe appeared in court last week with six co-accused.
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