THE Public Service Commercial Union (PSCU) said on Wednesday that it was seeking legal advice on whether former assistant commissioner at the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) Commission of Inquiry, Gill Marcus, had committed a crime by failing to disclose her alleged relationship with Steinhoff while adjudicating at the commission.
The PSCU also welcomed the court ruling that compelled Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan to provide the confidential documents on the sale of a 51% stake in SAA.
Marcus is the non-executive director of the Knysna Initiative for Learning and Teaching (Kilt), a non-profit organisation (NPO) that received donations from the Steinhoff Group.
Its annual report showed that between January and December 2019, Kilt had a budget of R24.7 million and Steinhoff had donated R10.9m to the NPO during the 12 months ended February 28, 2018.
The report noted that the NPO had become dependent on Steinhoff, and there was uncertainty whether the group would continue donating to the NPO given its financial difficulties, even though Steinhoff had committed to continue its funding.
The collapse of the Steinhoff Group featured prominently in the commission’s hearings, as the PIC lost billions of rand of state pension fund investments through its shareholding in South Africa’s biggest corporate disaster.
The PSCU’s secretary-general, Tahir Maepa, said that the union was pursuing criminal charges against implicated current and former Steinhoff executives and board members. “Further information on these matters will be announced in due course.”
Mahepa also issued a strong warning to Gordhan that there was no place for corruption to hide.
State-owned airline SAA, which over the past few years received several government bailouts and bonds from public servants’ pension fund money, “became an endless pit just as Eskom with money kept on being poured into it”.
Maepa said the union’s efforts in its fight against corruption did not only target banks, but also state-owned enterprises (SOEs). “We have seen that so long as information is kept hidden, deeds and unsavoury acts increase.
“The only way to expose the truth is to allow for it to be revealed. This ruling is indeed welcomed and its principles will go a long way to ensure that corruption is minimised in our country.”
He said the PSCU would continue to do everything in its power to confront all vehicles that house, transport and deliver corruption, irrespective of who the driver is.
“No one is above the law and this democracy, it will not be a credible democracy if it fails to protect our people.
“This judgment against Mr Gordhan will send a strong message to those who believe they are above the law and their deeds will remain sealed. We are an evolved democracy and we will always find means to expose the truth in a safe and transparent manner,” Maepa said.