Dear Fraud Alert
The Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomes the arrests and court appearances of various individuals including the former MEC for Human Settlements and Mangaung Mayor, Olly Mlamleli, in connection with the Free State asbestos housing project.
The DA has been actively involved in exposing the malfeasance relating to the issue of R255 million asbestos contract entered into between the Department of Human Settlements and the Blackhead Consulting/Diamond Hill Joint-Venture in 2014.
The MEC of the Department of Cooperative Governance, Traditional Affairs and Human Settlements (COGTAHS) at the time was Olly Mlamleli. In our court action back in July 2015, the DA attempted to stop further payments on the asbestos contract, whereby Ms Mlamleli was cited as the Second Respondent. During these court proceedings, the MEC spoke in court at the end of the hearing when she assured the Judge that she would ensure that no payments would be made until the Judge had ruled on the urgency of the matter.
The DA was also the complainant in the recently released Public Protector report on the contracts, the outcome of which supported the DA’s initial court bid to stop payments.
Today the DA are relieved that a politician who has been implicated and being held criminally accountable in illegal payments relating to the asbestos contract has been arrested and charged in the Bloemfontein High Court. The DA believes that the wheels of justice will continue to turn against the political handlers who have been involved in mass looting across the Free State during the tenure of former Premier of the Free State, Ace Magashule.
The DA will continue to expose the rot in the Free State and ensure that those politicians who have plundered the public purse and delivered our people into poverty are held accountable.
Regards
Leona Kleynhans MPL
Member of the Official Opposition in the Free State Legislature