Gangster State

(Nora) #1

for this asbestos thing we were now hearing about,’ a current FSHS
staffer told me. ‘We asked the HOD where we were going to get the
money to pay for this thing.’ As an unforeseen expense, the R 51 -
million prepayment was simply too large to pay out all at once. The
department instead opted to break up the prepayment into smaller
amounts, of which the R 20 million was the first. This was followed by
a second payment of R 31 million, which was transferred to the
Blackhead–Diamond Hill FNB account on 15 January 2015. The entire
haul of more than R 200 million was eventually paid out in eight
batches.
According to insiders familiar with the saga, some FSHS staffers
queried the prepayments. They were concerned that proper procedures
were not followed with regards to the appointment and payment of
Blackhead and Diamond Hill. At that point, Magashule’s alleged
involvement in the deal came to the fore. ‘Ace worked behind the
scenes with Mokhesi and other senior managers to get the asbestos
thing going, but his role was revealed when some officials questioned
the contract,’ alleged one department insider. ‘They were told that Ace
was behind the contract and that they should stop questioning things if
they wanted to keep their jobs.’ In response to staffers’ concerns over
the prepayment, Mokhesi and other senior managers apparently told
them that Ace had issued ‘political orders’ to ensure Blackhead and
Diamond Hill got paid.

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