President Cyril Ramaphosa says he doesn’t know Hangwani Maumela, his alleged nephew who secured dodgy tender deals worth close to R400 million in the past three years from public hospitals across Gauteng.
On Thursday, Ramaphosa appeared before the National Assembly to respond to questions from MP’s.
Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen asked Ramaphosa about the broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE) schemes and how they were doing so far.
“The Zondo Commission showed that BBBEE has been central to corruption in South Africa. Whether it is the R14 billion PPE corruption in Covid-19 or the billions stolen at Eskom. A recent example, one of your own nephew’s companies scored R381 million from Gauteng hospitals. You are right. It does not benefit the majority. It only benefits ANC-connected cronies.
“It does so at the expense of everyone else, particularly the black South Africans who remain trapped in poverty,” Steenhuisen said.
In his response to the question Ramaphosa said: “You keep saying, my nephew. I don’t even know this gentleman. So, let’s not even get there. I don’t know him.”
Ramaphosa’s office has previously denied he was involved with Maumela in anyway, but Jack Bloom, the DA’s Gauteng health spokesperson disputed this.
“The relationship is there. He’s a nephew by President Ramaphosa’s first wife but there is another connection according to News24and that’s between Mr Maumela and Mr Bejani Chauke, who is the president’s chief of staff,” he is quoted as having told Eyewitness News.
Details of dodgy transactions were revealed by Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko in response to questions submitted by Bloom.
In her answers to the Gauteng legislature last month, Nkomo-Ralehoko said 12 companies linked to Maumela and his relative Aluwani Titus Maumela- received payments worth R381 million from the Department of Health since April 2019.
A purchase order report attached as an addendum, revealed that Tembisa Hospital ordered 50 flat-bottomed round bowels at a cost of R496 555 on 25 May 2020 from Sunshine Gauteng Trading, which was registered under Aluwani.
Source: The South African, News24, image from Twitter: @PresidencyZA