The ANC has submitted a copy of the Nel report into the “brown envelope” payment-for-journalists scandal to Western Cape High Court judge Bennie Griesel.

The ANC has also submitted a formal condonation application for not having complied with the judge’s order to produce a copy of the report by December 21.

The report is of a 2006 internal ANC inquiry headed by Deputy Minister of Justice Andries Nel.

He investigated, inter alia, allegations by ANC members that senior party officials working in the then administration of Western Cape premier Ebrahim Rasool had paid journalists from the Cape Argus – part of Independent Newspapers (Cape) – to write news reports favourable to the “Rasool faction” of the party’s provincial branch and critical of the “Skwatsha faction”, headed by then provincial secretary Mcebisi Skwatsha.

As part of its own investigation of its journalists’ conduct, the newspaper group submitted a Promotion of Access to Information Act (Paia) application to the ANC for a copy of Nel’s report. When it failed to respond, the newspaper group took the matter to the Western Cape High Court.

On November 29 last year, Judge Griesel ruled that the group made a “compelling case” and was “undoubtedly” entitled to have access to the report. However, he first wanted to take a “judicial peek” to ensure the report did not contain other information that the newspaper group was not entitled to.

He ordered the ANC to make a copy of the report available within five court days and to submit any representations in this regard. By agreement, the deadline was extended to December 21, but the report was still not produced by that date. The ANC’s attorneys told the judge they did not have, and had never had, a copy of the report.

On Tuesday, the report and the condonation application were submitted.

In an accompanying affidavit, ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe said Nel had submitted his report to then deputy secretary-general Sanki Mthembi-Mahanyele in December 2006 and that he (Mantashe) had assumed office only in December 2008.

Since the court order, he had made various unsuccessful efforts to find the report. Nel was the only person he could rely on, but Nel had been travelling overseas from November 27 to December 2 and from December 3 to December 28.

“I was advised by Nel whilst he was overseas that the only copy of the report, which he thought he had, had been kept in a safe place which only he could access.”

When Nel returned, the ANC’s legal team was on holiday and it was only after its return on January 9 that Nel could discuss the issue with the team and that he (Mantashe) could comply with the court order.

“I am advised by Nel that despite his earlier belief that he had a hard copy of the report among his records, despite all efforts he engaged to locate the report, he could not locate a hard copy of it,” Mantashe stated. “However, Nel was able to locate an electronic copy of the report, which he believes is the final version of the copy which he submitted…

“With the assistance of a printout of Nel’s electronic copy, staff in my office have located the original hard copy which was handed to Mthembi-Mahanyele by Nel.”

Mantashe submitted that Independent Newspapers (Cape) had not been prejudiced by the late filing of the report because the issue had been in the public domain for several years and “the report does not reveal any new facts which are not already known to the respondents as it appears from (their) founding affidavit”.

The ANC’s application will be heard on January 31.

argusnews@inl.co.za - Cape Argus