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Malusi Gigaba

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Malusi Gigaba
Minister of Home Affairs
In office
27 February 2018 – 13 November 2018
PresidentCyril Ramaphosa
Preceded byAyanda Dlodlo
Succeeded byBlade Nzimande (Acting)
In office
25 May 2014 – 31 March 2017
PresidentJacob Zuma
Preceded byNaledi Pandor
Succeeded byHlengiwe Mkhize
Minister of Finance
In office
31 March 2017 – 27 February 2018
PresidentJacob Zuma
Cyril Ramaphosa
Preceded byPravin Gordhan
Succeeded byNhlanhla Nene
Minister of Public Enterprises
In office
1 November 2010 – 25 May 2014
PresidentJacob Zuma
Preceded byBarbara Hogan
Succeeded byLynne Brown
Deputy Minister of Home Affairs
In office
29 April 2004 – 1 November 2010
PresidentThabo Mbeki
Kgalema Motlanthe
Jacob Zuma
Preceded byLindiwe Nonceba Sisulu
Succeeded byFatima Chohan
Personal details
Born
Knowledge Malusi Nkanyezi Gigaba

(1971-08-30) 30 August 1971 (age 53)
[Plumtree]], Zimbabwe l
Political partyCommunist Party (Before 1990)
African National Congress (1990–present)
Spouses
Thabong Nxumalo
​
(div. 2010)​
Nomachule Mngoma
​
​
(m. 2014; div. 2021)​
Alma materUniversity of Durban-Westville
University of KwaZulu-Natal

Knowledge Malusi Nkanyezi Gigaba (born 30 August 1971) is a South African politician who served as Minister of Home Affairs of the Republic of South Africa appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa from 27 February 2018 until his resignation on 13 November 2018. He also held the post from 25 May 2014 to 31 March 2017 as appointed by former President Jacob Zuma. He previously served as Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, Minister of Public Enterprises and Minister of Finance in the government of South Africa. He is currently a member of the National Executive Committee of the African National Congress.

He was first elected to the National Assembly of South Africa in 1999 as Member of Parliament for the African National Congress. He resigned in 2001 but was elected to the National Assembly again in 2004. President Thabo Mbeki appointed him to the position of Deputy Minister of Home Affairs. President Jacob Zuma appointed Gigaba as Minister of Public Enterprises, succeeding Barbara Hogan in October 2010. He served in that position until 2014, when he was appointed Minister of Home Affairs. Gigaba was appointed Minister of Finance in March 2017 after the controversial dismissal of Pravin Gordhan.

In February 2018, Gigaba for the second time was appointed Minister of Home Affairs in the cabinet of Cyril Ramaphosa. He served until his forced resignation in November 2018, after mounting pressure for him to resign or for Ramaphosa to dismiss him. Minister of Transport, Blade Nzimande, was serving as Acting Minister of Home Affairs. Gigaba resigned as Member of the National Assembly on 15 November 2018.[1][2][3]

Gigaba is known as a chief architect of state capture.[4]

Early life

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Gigaba is the second-born child of Reverend Jabulani Gigaba and Nomthandazo Gigaba. He has three sisters and a brother. Gigaba did his primary school education at Mathonsi Primary School in Mandeni around 1983, followed by high school education at Vryheid State High School in 1988.[5] He attended Ethalana high school in the district of Umzinyathi where he attained his matric. He earned a bachelor's degree in education from the University of Durban-Westville (now part of the University of KwaZulu-Natal) in 1991, and a Master's degree in Social Policy.

Early political career

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During this period Gigaba became involved in various student and youth organisations such as Congress of South African Students (COSAS), the South African Youth Congress (SAYCO), the South African Student Congress (SASCO) and Young Christian Students (YCS). Some of these organisations such as COSAS and SASCO were aligned to the banned African National Congress (ANC). It was his involvement in these organisations that laid the foundation for his activities in the ANC Youth League. Gigaba has also been active in youth organizations, and was elected president of the African National Congress Youth League three times in a row (1996, 1998, 2001).

When the ANC, Pan Africanist Congress (PAC), South African Communist Party (SACP) and other liberation movements were unbanned in 1990, he joined the African National Congress Youth League, SACP and the ANC. That same year he completed his Bachelor of Pedagogics at UDW, but continued pursuing a postgraduate degree. Gigaba became one of the founding members of the Education Students Society University of Durban-Westville in 1992. The following year (1993) he was elected as chairman of SASCO at the University Durban-Westville (UDW).

Later political career

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In 2004 Gigaba was re-elected to Parliament where he became Deputy Minister of Home Affairs until October 2010. He was involved in a new visa system allowing easier legal flow of migration between South Africa and Zimbabwe.

In November 2010 he became the Minister of Public Enterprises and a leading figure in the South African Government responsible for a significant aspect of the governments infrastructure investment programmes through State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) such as the embattled Transnet and Eskom.[6]

In May 2014, former president Jacob Zuma appointed Gigaba as Minister of Home Affairs.

On 31 March 2017, Gigaba was appointed Minister of Finance, replacing Pravin Gordhan, raising suspicions that he was deployed by Zuma to assist him in developing his allegedly corrupt relationship with the Guptas.[7][8]

On 27 February 2018, Gigaba was removed from his position as the Minister of Finance and replaced by Nhlanhla Nene. On the same day Gigaba was appointed Minister of Home Affairs by President Cyril Ramaphosa following the announcement of his new cabinet, replacing Ayanda Dlodlo.

On 13 November 2018, Gigaba resigned as Minister of Home Affairs and subsequently also as Member of the National Assembly on 15 November 2018.[9][10][11]

Controversy

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Dubai bank account

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In 2014 it was reported that state security agents had investigated a mysterious offshore bank account opened in Gigaba's name, in Dubai, when he was still public enterprises minister.[12]

Gigaba apparently told state security agents that the account was opened by one of his officials without his knowledge. But banking and security insiders have indicated that it is difficult, if not impossible, for anyone to open an offshore account using a person's name without their knowledge, and that this could amount to fraud. His spokesperson denied any connection with the account or knowledge of the investigation.[13]

When Gigaba appeared before The Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture at parastatals in 2018 he denied holding any bank accounts in Dubai, and stated that he only had one account, with a local South African bank.[14]

Visa regulations

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At home affairs his reputation took a blow when he implemented arduous rules for those travelling with children, creating concerns around South Africa's tourism industry.[15]

Prior to the announcement of the visa regulations, tourist arrivals into South Africa had been steadily growing. 2011 = 2,176,719 arrivals 2012 = 2,505,763 arrivals (15,1% growth) 2013 = 2,660,631 arrivals (6,1% growth) but this changed abruptly in the third quarter of 2014 – the in-person visa application requirement came into effect in June 2014. Since then, there has been a systematic decline in tourist arrivals.

From September to December 2014, Brazil was down by 37%, China by 46.9% and India by 14.4%, continuing into 2015. The June 2015 arrivals data from Statistics SA showed overseas arrivals down by 13%. At the same time competitors were up. According to SA Tourism R7.51bn of revenue has been lost to the country.[16]

Fireblade Aviation

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In a judgment relating to the Fireblade Aviation case on 27 October 2017, the North Gauteng High Court found that Gigaba had lied under oath during his tenure as Minister of Home Affairs. The court case related to Gigaba, then Home Affairs Minister, allegedly granting permission to the Oppenheimer family to operate a private terminal at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg.[17]

The judge called Gigaba's arguments "disingenuous, spurious and fundamentally flawed, laboured and meritless, bad in law, astonishing, palpably untrue, untenable and not sustained by objective evidence, uncreditworthy and nonsensical".[18]

An appeal by Gigaba was heard in December 2017. Judge Tuchten concluded that "the Minister has committed a breach of the Constitution so serious that I could characterize it as a violation".[19][20]

Gigaba then approached the Supreme Court of Appeal and the Constitutional Court concurrently. The Constitutional Court dismissed the application with costs, saying it was not in the interests of justice to hear the matter at that stage because the Supreme Court of Appeal had to rule on the matter first.[21]

The Supreme Court of Appeal on 28 March 2018 dismissed Gigaba's application for leave to appeal against the judgment, saying there was no reasonable prospect of success.

Judge Malcolm Wallis said in his judgment that "there is nothing to suggest that the issues raised by the minister are of such a nature as to warrant the grant of leave to appeal notwithstanding the lack of prospects of success". The application was dismissed with costs.[22]

Gigaba's application to the Constitutional Court for leave to appeal against a lower court ruling that he lied under oath was dismissed on 1 November 2018 "as it bears no prospects of success."[23]

State capture

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A pivotal point in the state capture project was the appointment of Malusi Gigaba as Minister of Public Enterprises in 2010. He exploited a loophole in the Public Finance Management Act that made it possible to use the procurement procedures of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) to benefit selected contractors sanctioned by the Gupta Family network, this initiated the "repurposing" of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) as vehicles for looting.[24]

Gigaba is known as a chief architect of state capture, mainly because he purposely appointed key brokers of the state capture project to high level positions at State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Transnet and Eskom.[25]

In 2017, Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse laid charges of treason, corruption, extortion, fraud and theft against Gigaba.[26][27][28]

Gupta family citizenship

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Controversy was stirred in early 2015 when Gigaba fraudulently granted South African citizenship to members of the Gupta Family.[29][30]

A Parliament portfolio committee on Home Affairs in March 2019 recommended that members of the Gupta Family be charged criminally, their South African citizenships cancelled and the information be passed to the Commission of Enquiry into State Capture.[31][32][33][34][35]

Transnet

[edit]

Gigaba was instrumental in appointing Iqbal Sharma, a known Salim Essa and Gupta Family associate, to the Transnet board and Brian Molefe, later a known Gupta Family intimate, as Transnet chief executive in 2011.

Gigaba attempted to elevate Sharma to board chair, but this was prevented by his Cabinet colleagues over concerns of Sharma's known close relationship with the Gupta Family.[citation needed]

A new structure, formally called the Board Acquisitions and Disposals Committee, was set-up to oversee and supervise large-scale infrastructure spending and tenders worth more than R2.5bn.[citation needed]

Sharma became chair of this committee, enabling Gupta-linked entities to begin benefiting from Transnet tender opportunities, most notably the R51bn tender for the purchase of 1,064 locomotives.[25]

In July 2012, Transnet issued its tender for 1,064 freight locomotives; 599 electric and the rest diesel. This included R25-billion in tenders that were signed off by Molefe and awarded to CSR (China South Rail).[36] CSR then paid Tequesta Group Ltd, a Gupta-linked shell company, R5.3 billion in consultancy fees.[37]

Transnet was a key institution for the Gupta Family and associates.[38] Procurement processes were flouted, tenders were unlawfully awarded, contracts were signed off and extended with no accounting to the board, and money was siphoned from Transnet to Gupta-linked companies.[39][40]

A National Treasury investigation concluded that Gigaba had acted outside his authority and compromised the tender process, that Transnet officials had contravened the Public Financial Management Act and misrepresented facts to the board, and called on the Hawks to launch a corruption investigation into Transnet's board members, as well as for criminal investigations into Gupta associates and businesses linked to the inflated R54 bn locomotive procurement deal.[41][42]

Eskom

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One of Gigaba's first moves in 2011 was to overturn a procurement decision on which the Eskom executive and board had signed off – the replacement of Koeberg Nuclear Power Station's steam generators. Soon after, Gibaba removed the board.

Most of the new appointees had no corporate or electricity sector experience. New board members included Gupta business associates: former Oakbay director Mark Pamensky, Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane's advisor Kuben Moodley, and Nazia Carrim, wife of a relative of close Gupta associate Salim Essa.

The governance of Eskom was captured and repurposed - the next period was the scaling up of grand corruption, with the Gupta Family managing complex brokering and money laundering.[43]

The most notable examples include Eskom's facilitating and financing of the Guptas' acquisition of Glencore's Optimum Coal Holdings as a supplier to Eskom.

While Glencore was driven into business rescue, the Guptas' firm Tegeta benefited from an Eskom guarantee (R1.6bn), a large and unusual pre-payment (R600m) and additional lucrative coal contracts. The guarantee and pre-payment income enabled the Gupta family to buy Optimum Coal Holdings.

Further instances of Gupta-favoured coal contracts and the squeezing out of large coal miners were revealed in Parliament's inquiry report published on 28 November 2018.[44][45]

The report conclusions included: 'The Committee finds that the Executive arm of government represented by the two former ministers – Gigaba and Brown – was grossly negligent in carrying out its responsibility as the sole Shareholder of Eskom.[46] and 'recommends that the two former Public Enterprises ministers Gigaba and Brown must make presentations to the Zondo Commission in order to share insights into the roles they played as Shareholder representatives during the period of corruption and corporate capture that flourished at Eskom.[47]

South African Airways

[edit]

In 2012 Gigaba delayed support for a turnaround strategy for South African Airways (SAA) put forward by then board chair Cheryl Carolus, causing financial damage to the airline.

After Carolus resigned, Gigaba brought back Vuyisile Kona as both acting CEO and board chair after a meeting at the Guptas' Saxonwold house with Rajesh Gupta, Duduzane Zuma, and Ace Magashule's son Tshepiso.[48]

During 2017, SAA was bailed out with a payment of R5-billion, including a portion of R3-billion that was meant to settle SAA's debt with Citibank. Another R5-billion payment to SAA was due at the end of March 2018, a month after Gigaba announced a VAT increase.

The reason for these costly failures in SoEs is poor corporate governance, whose seeds sprouted when Minister Gigaba was at the helm of the Department of Public Enterprises. Poor understanding of government's oversight role as a shareholder, lack of strategic perspective, and absence of a developmental mindset are other factors that undermine effective governance of SoEs.[49]

Zondo Commission

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The Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture in South Africa heard evidence that implicated Malusi Gigaba in a number of instances of alleged improper conduct. These included:

  • Interference in state-owned enterprises: Gigaba was accused of interfering in the appointment of board members and executives at state-owned enterprises, including Eskom, Transnet, and Denel. Witnesses alleged that he had used his authority to remove or appoint individuals who were aligned with his own interests or those of the Gupta family, a wealthy business family that was at the center of the state capture scandal.
  • Irregular procurement practices: The Commission heard evidence that Gigaba had approved a number of contracts and tenders without following proper due diligence or competitive bidding processes. In some cases, these contracts were awarded to companies with close ties to the Gupta family or other politically connected individuals, resulting in overpayments and other irregularities.
  • Misuse of public funds: The Commission also heard evidence that Gigaba had used public funds for personal purposes, including the purchase of luxury goods such as clothing and watches. He was also accused of using state resources to fund lavish travel expenses for himself and his family.
  • Dishonesty and perjury: During his testimony before the Commission, Gigaba was accused of lying under oath and providing misleading information. He was also accused of altering a classified report that was used in a court case involving a company owned by the Gupta family, in an attempt to protect their interests.

Overall, the Zondo Commission's findings suggested that Gigaba had acted improperly and had failed to uphold the principles of good governance and accountability. While Gigaba denied any wrongdoing, the Commission's evidence was seen as credible and compelling by many observers. The hope is that by exposing and addressing these types of alleged abuses of power, South Africa can move towards greater transparency, accountability, and integrity in its government institutions.

Personal life

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Gigaba was married to Thabong Nxumalo; they divorced in 2010. He has children from his first marriage. He married Nomachule "Norma" Mngoma in 2014. Gigaba's former mistress Buhle Mkhize and his wife Nomachule "Norma" Gigaba (née Mngoma) have engaged in several spats on social media,[50][51][52] eventually leading to confirmation of the affair.[53][54] A video of Gigaba performing a solo sexual act went viral on social media. Gigaba apologized for the incident in a series of tweets.[55][56]

References

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  1. ^ "Home affairs minister malusi gigaba resigns". businesslive. 13 November 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  2. ^ "Malusi Gigaba Finally Resigns From Cabinet". citizen.co.za. 13 November 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  3. ^ "MINISTER OF PUBLIC ENTERPRISES: NO PRIVATISING". Railways Africa. 28 February 2011. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  4. ^ "Connecting the dots on Gigaba's 'state capture' project". fin24.com. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  5. ^ jonas (13 January 2012). "Malusi Nkanyezi Gigaba". South African History Online. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  6. ^ Naidoo, Sharda; Molele, Charles; Letsoalo, Matuma (3 February 2012). "State of the Nation: Zuma adopts Chinese model". Mail and Guardian. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  7. ^ "South Africa is on edge after the president fired his finance minister and uprooted 19 others". qz.com. 30 March 2017. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  8. ^ "BETRAYAL OF THE PROMISE: HOW SOUTH AFRICA IS BEING STOLEN" (PDF). Public Affairs Research Institute PARI.org.za. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  9. ^ "Betrayal of the Promise: The Anatomy of State Capture". dailymaverick.co.za. 25 May 2017. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  10. ^ "Malusi Gigaba BIO". iom.int. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  11. ^ "Malusi Nkanyezi Gigaba". sahistory.org.za. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  12. ^ "Malusi Gigaba The Young Lion From Eshowe". huffingtonpost. 30 March 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  13. ^ "The mystery gigaba bank account". mg.co.za. 12 June 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  14. ^ "Gigaba: Dubai trips had 'nothing' to do with Guptas". mg.co.za. 13 March 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  15. ^ "malusi gigaba the young lion from eshowe". huffingtonpost. 30 March 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  16. ^ "TBCSA —Data" (PDF). satsa.com. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  17. ^ Vecchiatto, Paul (21 February 2018). "Court finds Gigaba lied under oath". Bloomberg News – via news 24 (South Africa).
  18. ^ "Dlodlo to appeal over Oppenheimers' private international terminal". businesslive.co.za. 11 December 2017.
  19. ^ "DA lays complaint against Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba with Public Protector". Democratic Alliance. 21 February 2018. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  20. ^ Judge S. Potterill (27 October 2017). "Fireblade Aviation Proprietary Limited v Minister of Home Affairs and Others (85376-2016; 93450-2016) [2017] ZAGPPHC 676". South Africa: North Gauteng High Court, Pretoria – via Southern African Legal Information Institute.
  21. ^ Vecchiatto, Paul (10 March 2018). "South African Court Dismisses Gigaba's Appeal". Bloomberg. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  22. ^ Daniels, Nathan (18 April 2018). "Listen Gigaba Petition concourt fireblade judgement". jacarandaFM.
  23. ^ Chabalala, Jeanette (1 November 2018). "ConCourt throws out Gigaba's bid to appeal Fireblade ruling". News24.
  24. ^ "betrayal of the promise anatomy of state". dailymaverick. 26 May 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  25. ^ a b George, Dennis (9 October 2017). "Connecting the dots on Gigaba's 'state capture' project". fin24.com.
  26. ^ "Outa files corruption charges against Gigaba". iol.co.za. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  27. ^ "Outa lays corruption charges against Gigaba and others". timeslive.co.za. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  28. ^ "OUTA has laid charges of treason, corruption, extortion, fraud and theft against Malusi Gigaba as former Minister of Home Affairs". outa.co.za. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  29. ^ "Parliament finds Gigaba's naturalisation of Gupta family fraudulent". sabcnews.com. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  30. ^ "How Gigaba broke the rules to give the Guptas citizenship". businesslive.co.za. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  31. ^ "Report of the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs Inquiry on State Capture in Granting of Citizenship to Non South Africans". Parliamentary Monitoring Group PMG.org.za. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  32. ^ "Gigaba was 'incorrect' to naturalise Guptas, committee finds". news24.com. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  33. ^ "Gigaba was 'incorrect', citizenship for Guptas should be revoked: parliament". timeslive.co.za. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  34. ^ "Malusi Gigaba 'must face inquiry' over Guptas' citizenship". businesslive.co.za. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  35. ^ "Gigaba and Gupta Citizenship: Several ethical and legal questions remain unanswered". dailymaverick.co.za. 14 June 2017. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  36. ^ "Transet overpaid R509M in train deal". businesslive. 1 August 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  37. ^ "Gupta linked train company in R5bn rip off". News24. 23 March 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  38. ^ "Iqbal Sharma: The inside man at Transnet". timeslive.co.za. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  39. ^ "Popo Molefe slams Gigaba for appointing 'architects of capture' in Transnet 'horror show'". fin24.com. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  40. ^ "Brian Molefe's appointment at Transnet opened the door for corruption - board chair". fin24.com. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  41. ^ "Explosive report derails Gigaba, Molefe, Singh, other Transnet execs". timeslive.co.za. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  42. ^ "Treasury Probe 1: Malusi Gigaba and Brian Molefe at centre of massive Treasury investigation into Transnet rail purchase". dailymaverick.co.za. 16 November 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  43. ^ "is gigaba mr state capture". news24. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  44. ^ "How corrupt power captured eskom and helped pull the plug on growth". businesslive.co.za. 12 September 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  45. ^ "2018 Financial Report—Eskom Inquiry" (PDF). parliament.gov.za.
  46. ^ 3.10.15"2018 Financial Report—Eskom Inquiry" (PDF). parliament.gov.za.
  47. ^ 4.11.4"2018 Financial Report—Eskom Inquiry" (PDF). parliament.gov.za.
  48. ^ "is gigaba mr state capture". news24. 28 May 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  49. ^ "Governance of state owned enterprises reforming the unreformable". dailymaverick. 27 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  50. ^ Pitjeng, Refilwe (10 May 2017). "Gigaba's alleged ex-mistress questions integrity, wife's qualifications". Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  51. ^ "NY fashionista ignites full wrath of Malusi Gigaba's wife". News24. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  52. ^ "Malusi Gigaba's First Wife Throws Shade At Norma Cheating Scandal". iHarare News. 29 July 2020. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  53. ^ Buthelezi, Siphelele (24 January 2016). "Noma Gigaba: She had sex with my man". IOL News. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  54. ^ Alfreds, Duncan (9 May 2017). "Gigaba's former mistress takes on his wife in social media storm". News24. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  55. ^ "Gigaba Apologises over hacked sex tape off his phone". citizen.co.za. 28 October 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  56. ^ "Malusi Gigaba sex tape divides twitter". timeslive.co.za. 29 October 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
[edit]
Political offices
Preceded by Minister of Home Affairs
2014–2017 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of Finance
2017–2018 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of Home Affairs
2018 		Succeeded by
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