SIYABONGA SITHOLE
JOHANNESBURG – The DA has welcomed the recent search and seizure conducted by the Hawks and the Special Investigative Unit (SIU) on the premises of Alexander Bay Diamonds Company.
The company is accused of corruption and looting of the state diamonds company, Alexkor, through an illegal contract awarded to it.
On Thursday, members of the SIU conducted the raids at the premises of the company and confiscated computer hardware and other documents as part of their investigation.
Speaking during the raid, SIU spokesperson, Kaizer Kganyago, said Alexander Bay Diamonds Company was awarded an unlawful contract for valuation and selling diamonds on behalf of Alexkor.
"We have received a lot of documents and hard drives that we found on the premises which are going to help us finalise our investigation. Now that we have the documents, we will then make sure that we conclude our investigation in a short space of time," Kganyago said.
The raids come after the SIU was granted a search and seizure warrant at the premises by the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.
"The DA welcomes the latest action taken by the SIU to conduct a warrant of search and seizure against the Gupta-linked Alexander Bay Diamonds Company, which is alleged to have been at the centre of wholesale looting of state diamonds company, Alexkor," says DA deputy shadow minister of state enterprises, Farhat Essack.
According to reports, Alexander Bay Diamonds Company irregularly won a contract on marketing, valuation, sale and beneficiation of diamonds on behalf of Alexkor with former CEO of Alexkor, Lemogang Pitsoe, accused of facilitating this unlawful contract.
"Pitsoe must account on the role he played in awarding this contract and the circumstances that led to Alexkor becoming a cesspool of corruption under his watch," Essack says.
The DA also lamented the contract as having robbed the community of Richtersveld of an opportunity to benefit from this deal as they hold the land mining rights.
"While Alexkor has been selling diamonds mined on Richtersveld community land at below market prices, through its intermediaries, community members have been robbed of an opportunity to benefit from fair value mining royalties that were due to them," Essack says.
The Star