By Zukile Majova
- The DA has opened a case of corruption against Minister Thembi Simelane, who serves in the same government as them.
- Simelane is accused of signing off fake invoices that cost Eskom more than R700,000 while at Vitrovian.
In a shocking move, the DA has opened a criminal case against a fellow minister in the government of national unity.
The party, which shares power with the ANC and others in the GNU, has accused Minister of Human Settlements Thembi Simelane of corruption.
DA federal chair Helen Zille said the party has no plans to leave the GNU but will continue to expose wrongdoing.
The criminal case relates to Simelane’s time at Vitrovian, a consulting firm that Eskom hired to help keep protests quiet during the building of the Kusile Power Plant.
The DA claims Simelane signed off on dodgy invoices that saw Eskom pay more than R700,000 for work done by ghost employees.
“Vitrovian’s charges to Eskom appear ridiculously inflated, and Eskom was allegedly invoiced by Vitrovian for work done by employees that did not exist.
“Simelane’s signature appears on the very first of these fraudulent invoices, directly implicating her in the scandal,” the DA said.
This is not the first time Simelane has faced corruption claims.
She was previously linked to the VBS looting scandal after admitting she took a R600,000 loan from a company she had hired to manage Polokwane municipality’s investments in VBS while she was mayor.
Despite the scandal, President Cyril Ramaphosa kept her in his cabinet. He did move her from justice to human settlements, but ignored calls to fire her.
Simelane has said she gave Ramaphosa a report on the matter, but neither the DA nor Parliament has seen it.
“The President has repeatedly refused to disclose the content of Simelane’s report to him on these allegations, despite several requests by the DA that he does so,” the DA said.
DA MP Glynnis Breytenbach said: “The DA is determined to purge the government of its corrupt officials.”
Pictured above: DA MP Glynnis Breytenbach outside the police opening a case against Human Settlements Minister Thembi Simalane.
Image source: X
