Kathrada Foundation Calls Popo Molefe a Bulwark Against Corruption

The Ahmed Kathrada Foundation and the Unite Behind civil coalition have made public their support of former Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa board chairperson Popo Molefe – who they call “a bulwark against corruption and state capture” – and all public servants who have fought to do the right thing at PRASA, saying the African National Congress leaders’ response to Molefe’s evidence of state capture is “unfortunate” and “incredulous.”

Other things Molefe had to deal with, while trying to uncover corruption at the transport utility, was one minister of transport he and his board had to take to court to get themselves reinstated and another minister who was hostile towards them. Then there was meddling by Jacob Zuma when he was president to get the infamous Lucky Montana reinstated.

The two bodies also said there were public servants who were being vilified for standing up against corruption and state capture, but where was the government’s support for them?

Molefe recently provided testimony before the Zondo Commission of Inquiry, detailing the extent to which the PRASA Board of Control had to contend with corruption and capture at the entity. Molefe outlined how he had previously taken his concerns over corruption to the then ANC top six, the Hawks as well as to Parliament, but nothing was reportedly done about it.

“It is unfortunate that the ANC’s response to this is that Molefe and his board had all the power to deal with corruption at the entity when there were clear attempts to stop the board from doing its work,” said Mmeli Dube from #UniteBehind.

“Molefe’s board successfully took Minister Dipuo Peters to Court for her decision to fire them.

“They then had to contend with the next Minister, Joe Maswanganyi, who from Molefe’s testimony, seems to have held a similarly hostile attitude. Furthermore, according to Molefe, the President at the time, Jacob Zuma, attempted to meddle with affairs by trying to get PRASA CEO, Lucky Montana, reappointed following Montana’s resignation.

“It is incredulous to say that Molefe should have done something about state capture at PRASA when he and the board that he chaired at the time were central to uncovering the rot. It was under Molefe’s leadership that the probes into the Siyangena and Swifambo deals began and criminal charges were laid. This was the board that had to force the Hawks through a Court application to investigate the cases. This was also the board that began implementing the recommendations of Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s ‘Derailed’ report. Molefe and his board did much of this with very little political backing at the time,” Dube said.

anc needs to tackle corruption

The Foundation’s Executive Director, Neeshan Balton, said that the ANC and its leaders need to show greater commitment towards tackling state capture and corruption. “The ANC has repeatedly spoken about the need to tackle corruption. Its conference resolutions are quite detailed about how this should be done.

“Yet, we see the ANC reconsidering that in a statement of two individuals deeply implicated in the VBS saga. This is in stark contrast to the attitude that almost dismisses the testimony of Molefe, someone who has really been a bulwark against corruption and state capture,” Balton said.

“Recent reports of the ANC meeting with the SABC at its offices indicates that the lines of accountability are sometimes blurred, but are carried out in a manner which seemingly absolves the governing party from responsibility, as was the case in the PRASA matter.”

#UniteBehind organiser, Zukiswa Vuka, added, “There are public servants who have been vilified at PRASA and other state-owned entities for standing up against corruption, but where is the support for them? These are individuals who were prepared to lose their jobs, but we have leadership under whose nose corruption was happening, but little or nothing was done about it.”

“The ruling party will need to explain these things when they appear before the Zondo Commission in order to persuade the public that they are serious about combatting corruption.

the buck stops with the leadership

Ultimately, the buck with tackling corruption in this country stops with its leadership – those within political parties, those in Parliament and those in other public institutions.

“It is a pity when that leadership is unwilling to do everything within their power to prevent the looting and capture of the public purse. We can no longer be content with a situation where there is active support for individuals implicated in state capture – some of whom still remain in office.

Nor can we be content with a scenario where leaders remain silently complicit, because the ‘balance of forces’ for them to speak up and take action is not in their favour,” Vuka said.

“We pledge our continued support for the honest individuals who were prepared to take a stand against corruption and capture at PRASA, despite the immense pressure. We call on them and other whistleblowers who have not yet testified before the Zondo Commission, to do so. Not only do we require a clearer picture of how SOEs were captured and how this can be prevented in future, but we also need to hold those implicated to account.”