JOHANNESBURG—The Economic Freedom Fighters have called for the Minister of Justice Thembi Simelane to step down after it was revealed that she benefitted financially from the VBS Mutual Bank saga.
It has come to light that Minister Simelane received a “loan” of R575 600 from Gundo Wealth Solutions in 2016, a company directly linked to the unlawful investments of municipal funds into the now-defunct VBS Bank during her tenure as the mayor of Polokwane.
A request has been submitted by other parties as a request to the chair of the Justice Parliamentary Portfolio, for the Minister of Justice to appear before the portfolio to answer to these allegations. At the very least, the Minister needs to be brought before Parliament to account for what measures she intends to put in place to manage the glaring conflict of interest between herself as Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development and her role involving the National Prosecuting Authority, which must surely be investigating the Minister and this transaction.
EFF party posted a statement on its X account @EFFSouthAfrica. The statement comes after Simelane was revealed to have received a R575,600 loan from VBS Mutual Bank through Gundo Wealth Solutions. She used the money to purchase a coffee shop and claims to have paid it back.
The party blasted her. It said that Simelane was entrusted with safeguarding public funds and chose instead to engage in corrupt dealings.
“Minister Simelane’s attempts to dismiss her actions as a legitimate commercial transaction are nothing but a flimsy cover-up. Her failure to adequately address the conflict of interest, her role in facilitating these illegal investments, and her subsequent attempts to downplay her involvement are indicative of someone who cannot be trusted with the responsibility of overseeing justice in our nation,” it said.
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