On the day of its opening a week ago, the Gauteng legislature held a gala dinner at The Dome, a venue whose catering company is partly owned by the daughter of the Speaker, Lindiwe Maseko.
The legislature’s opening in Mamelodi last week has been mired in controversy. It started two hours late and, according to the DA, cost R6.5 million – a budget far higher than any other legislature opening in the past few years.
As the Speaker, Maseko was in charge of the event, part of which was an official breakfast, a finger lunch and a gala dinner.
While the breakfast and lunch were catered for by Zazise Communications, a company contracted by the mayor of Tshwane, the dinner was held at the Coca-Cola Dome, whose banqueting catering is supplied by Delmont Caldow Caterers (pty) Ltd.
Sources within the legislature have said the decision to use the Coca-Cola Dome and not a venue in Pretoria as originally planned was a clear conflict of interest.
Maseko was previously a Delmont Caldow director, but has since resigned. Her daughter Edna is still listed as a director.
On its website, Delmont Caldow said the company was owned by three stakeholder groups: 20.6 percent is held by the Maseko Family Trust, 30.4 percent by Global Interface and 49 percent by Delmont Caldow Caterers Management.
Edna is a chef and is described on the website as having run her own catering company for seven years.
“She brings strong business skills and a deep understanding of customer service and is uniquely placed to reinforce our recipe for success,” is the way Delmont describes her on its website.
The legislature has denied a conflict of interest, saying it did not have any contract with Delmont Caldow. However, it was not upfront in its response that these are the caterers used by the Coca-Cola Dome.
Spokeswoman Nondumiso Msomi said the legislature did not appoint Delmont Caldow to cater for any of the events held for the opening, so there could not be a conflict of interest.
“Initially GPL (the legislature) intended hosting dinner (sponsored by First National Bank) in Irene, but due to the limited space that was available to cater for 500 people, the Dome was chosen,” she said.
“We wish to indicate that the dinner was also successful and that GPL and the sponsor for dinner were satisfied with the quality of the event.”
Msomi would not indicate how much was spent on the opening, but said the reconciling of the amount spent against the budget would be completed next week.
Edna initially indicated that she would respond to queries, but then failed to do so.
FNB spokeswoman Patty Seetharam would not disclose the value of the company’s sponsorship for the dinner, but said the legislature had organised and managed the event.
According to the Dome management, a minimum cost per head for catering at the venue is R260. For 500 people at this rate, it would cost R130 000.
DA chief whip Glenda Steyn said the party had received information that the event (the entire opening of of the legislature) had cost R6.5m because it was moved to Mamelodi and not held at the legislature building.
She said the DA would be investigating the conflict-of-interest claims as well as overspending.
“We will investigate whether there has been a creative use of tenders or not. We will be going to the various departments that funded the opening to see if there was any irregularity or overspending,” said Steyn.
*Maseko’s rise
Lindiwe Maseko was the first woman to head the Gauteng legislature and is the provincial treasurer of the ANC.
Born in Alexandra and raised in Soweto, she got a job at the ANC headquarters in 1991 as a personal assistant to Tokyo Sexwale and Paul Mashatile.
She was voted into the legislature in 1994. She was made Deputy Speaker in 2000 and Speaker in 2008.
In her declaration of interests last year, Maseko listed eight companies of which she is a director, four of which she said were shelf companies and one that she said was in the process of being deregistered.
According to the Company and Intellectual Property Commission, Maseko is, in fact, a director of 17 companies.
The ones that are undeclared are: Boerassic Park; Imvelopark; Mogwele Trading 194; Mphe Integrated Solutions and Trading; Mphe Investment Holdings; Rishile African Gold; Rishile African Mineral Resources; Rishile African Mineral Resources (KwaZulu-Natal); and Webindaba. – The Star