Johannesburg - Gauteng ANC chief whip Brian Hlongwa has broken his silence on the multimillion-rand fraud and corruption charges levelled against him.
He indicated on Thursday that he would rather face a court than answer to the DA or EFF.
A visibly irritated Hlongwa was responding to accusations from both parties that his fraud and corruption charges made him unsuitable to occupy a seat in the legislature.
The DA and EFF suggested this on Thursday in the legislature during the debate on Premier David Makhura’s State of the Province Address.
The DA spokesman on health, Jack Bloom, fired the first salvo.
He told Makhura that his claims that the province’s health services were improving was incorrect.
He said patients were waiting in long queues and their medical files were not being captured electronically.
Bloom blamed Hlongwa for the delays and failure to complete a R14.2 million clinic in Randfontein.
He said problems in the Health Department began when Hlongwa was MEC.
“The reason we still have paper files is that, according to court documents, the health information contract was corruptly awarded in 2008,” Bloom said.
“This R1.2 billion contract was cancelled but the department could not award a new contract because the Baoki Consortium was claiming damages for the cancellation.
“The Baoki Consortium has now surrendered this claim because it concedes that it cannot defend itself against evidence that one of its senior directors, Hans Smidek, brought honourable Brian Hlongwa’s house for R4.6m to assist him in buying a new house for R7.2m.
“This is part of a host of allegations about a ‘generally corrupt relationship’ between former MEC Hlongwa and the 3P Consortium that was first supposed to turn around the department.”
Bloom also challenged ANC members to dispute Struggle veteran Reverend Frank Chikane’s observation that every tender and contract under an ANC government was designed to make someone in the party rich.
None of the ANC members engaged Bloom on the issue.
This appeared to open more corruption allegations against the ANC, and Hlongwa in particular.
EFF Gauteng chief whip Lindiwe Dzimba said a multibillion IT tender was lying idle in the Health Department “due to thuggish and corrupt manipulation of the tender system by the then MEC honourable Brian Hlongwa”.
Dzimba said Hlongwa was awarded a R7.2m house and R1m was deposited into his personal bank accounts for allegedly favouring certain companies.
“Imagine how many proper houses could have been built for our people with that money instead of creating a life of comfort for himself and his family,” Dzimba said.
For about five hours, a resigned Hlongwa listened to the proceedings and the allegations about him.
He was the last person to speak during the debate, and for 20 minutes avoided responding to the DA and EFF’s allegations against him.
Hlongwa maintained that the EFF’s slogan of “economic freedom in our lifetime” was the brainchild of the ANC and that the Gauteng ANC would do everything in its power to “break the back of monopoly capital. They are going to be in trouble.”
But EFF leader Mandisa Mashego said Hlongwa’s comments did not come from a credible source.
Hlongwa said he owed an explanation to the high court in Johannesburg and not the opposition.
*The Hawks filed a civil lawsuit against Hlongwa in the high court in July last year.
The Star