Former Transnet executives Brian Molefe (above) and Siyabonga Gama are sworn in as members of parliament for Jacob Zuma's Umkhonto weSizwe party. (Upa Nkosi)
debtFormer Transnet executives Brian Molefe and Siyabonga Gama have been sworn in as members of parliament for Jacob Zuma's Mkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, alongside long-time associate Mzwanele Mani and former Prasa chief executive Lucky Montana.
None of them were on the party's candidate list in the May election, but they will fill seats left vacant by the party's expulsion of 15 members of parliament earlier this month.
The purge has led to continued discord within the now official opposition party and sparked accusations of cronyism. A total of eight new MK lawmakers, including Nompumelelo Gasa, were sworn in on Wednesday.
Molefe, Gama and Montana were implicated by the Zondo Commission of Inquiry in a state takeover during the Zuma administration.
Molefe faces fraud, corruption and money laundering charges stemming from an inflated bid for the procurement of 1,064 locomotives to replace the logistics company's ageing fleet.
The Zondo commission found Molefe was a central figure in the looting of Transnet coffers by the Gupta brothers. He is due to appear again in court in October, along with Transnet's former chief financial officer, Anoj Singh.
Gama was reinstated to Transnet Freight Rail a week after Molefe was appointed, despite having been fired the previous year for gross misconduct. Zondo's report found that after his reinstatement, Gama was “centrally involved in significant transactions favouring Gupta companies”. He also faces charges of corruption and money laundering.
The commission found that while he was head of South African Passenger Rail Corporation between 2010 and 2015, Montana had instructed which tenders should be awarded.
Mani, a former labour director-general and recent spokesman for Zuma's eponymous foundation, became an MP for the MK party after defecting from the Economic Freedom Fighters.
Democratic Alliance floor leader George Michalakis said the new lawmakers were an embarrassment to parliament.
“These individuals are unfit to hold office in a parliament that should adhere to principles of accountability with democracy and integrity at its core. Their presence in parliament is a clear indication of how deeply rooted corruption is.”
Moreover, he said, people who voted for the MK Party did not choose them to represent them.
“The MK Party’s decision to amend and arbitrarily change the party list undermines the very essence of democratic representation.
“Voters had no idea these individuals would be representing them as they were not included on the list originally presented to voters. This makes a mockery of our democratic process, where transparency and trust should be paramount.”
