positions in the Free State, including MEC for finance, and for safety
and security. He later became the ANC’s chief whip in the provincial
legislature under Magashule’s stewardship. A guilty conviction on a
charge of culpable homicide following a hit-and-run incident did not
stop him from becoming the mayor of Bloemfontein in 2008.^13
In 2013 , at the height of the Gupta shadow state’s rule over South
Africa, Morule was appointed as South Africa’s high commissioner to
India.^14 And in early 2018 , then public enterprises minister and
suspected Gupta backer Lynne Brown apparently tried to have Morule
appointed as chairperson of Eskom.^15
Morule’s wife, meanwhile, has reaped the benefits of being a building
contractor employed by the Free State provincial government. People
First has received almost R 140 million from the FSHS to date,
according to the HSS. The same records suggest that People First is
among the contractors guilty of leaving behind incomplete houses. Of
the 200 RDP units this company was appointed to build in 2010 , 87
were incomplete in 2013 , according to one progress report. People First
apparently abandoned the project because of delays in getting paid by
the department.^16
Moyanda Mohai, the wife of another former chief whip turned MEC,
has also been on the receiving end of lucrative contracts. She is married
to Seiso Mohai, who served as Magashule’s MEC for finance from
2009 to 2013.^17 Her company, Moyakhe Trading, has to date received
more than R 18 million from the FSHS, mostly in the period after
Magashule became premier.
Moyakhe Trading got a contract to build 300 houses in Bloemfontein
in 2010. By 2013 , only 132 houses had been completed. A progress
report lists ‘cashflow problems’ among the reasons for the contractor’s
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