LIVE FEED: State capture inquiry, February 18, 2020

Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo. Picture: Nhlanhla Phillips/African News Agency(ANA).

Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo. Picture: Nhlanhla Phillips/African News Agency(ANA).

Published Feb 18, 2020

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Johannesburg - A Mr X will continue giving evidence at the Zondo commission on Tuesday morning, blowing the whistle on allegations of corruption involving funds belong to state-owned water supply company Mhlathuze Water. 

Mr X began his testimony on Monday and outlined how he was pulled into a scheme which aimed to defraud Mhlathuze Water through the use of Isibonelo Construction - a company owned by Mr X. The company is based in Richards Bay in KwaZulu-Natal.

The man's identity is being withheld after the chairperson of the state capture inquiry Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo granted him permission to keep his identity from the public. The basis for this request was that Mr X fears for his and his family's safety.

He said that what he will testify on will not please certain individuals. Mr X will provide testimony which will implicate the Jacob Zuma Foundation  and former SAA board chairperson Dudu Myeni. 

Mr X explained to the commission on Monday that Isibonelo had done various work in KZN and that it had provided JoJo Tanks to an area in KZN in 2014. He said had obtained the contract after contacting Myeni. He explained that he and Myeni had had a long standing relationship over the years. 

Mr X explained his friend, a Mboniseni Majola, had approached him in early 2015 asking that he provide his banking facilities of Isibonelo so that he and his "boss" could transfer funds through the company's account. Majola was a project manager at Mhlathuze Water. 

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"A friend of mine had asked me for help with regards to funds that they wanted to access with his boss. Boniseni Majola is the friend's name. I did not ask him (Majola) how the scheme would work because he is more educated than me. He said he would give me the account number that I must pay the money to." Mr X explained. 

Mr X explained that Majola had used Isibonelo's banking facilities as a payment area for construction engineering companies. The engineering companies who provide false employment letters to Isibonelo and would then transfer various amounts of money. 

He told the commission that he then was instructed to make payments to various banking accounts, which had never done business with Isibonelo. 

Mr X explained that Majola had worked with a colleague to draw up fake invoices that would make it seem like Isibonelo was being paid for funds it did not render. This was to disguise the transactions which took place between 2013 to 2016. 

"Yes I did that (make the payments to other companies from funds provided by the engineering companies). I wanted to be seen as a person who can be trusted. I would look at the money and everything was done with secretary and would not touch that money," he explained. 

The commission resumes at 9.30am.

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Jacob Zuma