Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Gauteng provincial chairperson Mandisa Mashego supporting Gugu Ncube at the Pretoria Magistrate's Court on Thursday, 14 March 2019. Picture: ANA Reporter
The Economic Freedom Fighters’ (EFF) Gauteng office has reportedly received acknowledgement of receipt and is awaiting the case reference numbers after lodging numerous fraud and corruption cases against Gauteng Enterprise Propellor and former Gauteng MEC for Economic Development Lebogang Maile.
The cases were lodged at the Gauteng Office of the Public Protector concerning what the party has labelled “the flagrant theft of state resources, illegal lease agreements and outright fraud that has undermined genuine development of Black small business owners and entrepreneurs who are deserving of state funding.”
According to the party, they will be communicating directly with the National South African Police Services (SAPS) Investigations unit to demand fast-tracking of the corruption cases that have been inexplicably stuck with the Hawks for a considerable time.
“We will include the fraud and corruption case against Barbara Creecy’s Gauteng eGov Department that was opened with the Hawks and to date nothing has been done,” stated the party.
“All guilty and corrupt politicians, implicated Auditor General staff, fake entrepreneurs who received money fraudulently through blatant theft and senior state officials who colluded to make this massive looting possible must be arrested without fail,” said the EFF.
Additionally, Provincial Chairperson of the EFF in Gauteng Mandisa Mashego has also consulted a legal team to legally challenge what her party calls “Maile’s lame threats to have her arrested, in his attempt to intimidate her”.
The party refused to be threatened and vowed that Maile “is not the first to be taken to task and exposed by the EFF and it will certainly not be the last”.
When asked for comment regarding the action taken against him by the EFF, Maile’s spokesperson Castro Ngobese said that the MEC was a law-abiding citizen with protection afforded to him by the Constitution.
“The MEC is a law abiding citizen and is equally Constitutionally enjoined with protection. This, however, is not to be equated as an attempt at deflecting attention from the real charges laid by MEC Maile. MEC Maile is not shaken by any dis-campaign against his resolve to see justice prevailing and shall be relentlessly be proceeding with the legal process that was started last week and is accordingly ready for the court process,” said Ngobese.
“MEC Maile within his own right laid charges, just like any other citizen to seek appropriate relief against the defamatory statements made by MPL Mandisa Mashigo and EFF,” he added.
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