Johannesburg - Businessman Kevin Wakeford on Thursday told the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture that while plenty of allegations have been made against him by former Bosasa chief operating officer Angelo Agrizzi and Frans Vorster, there is no evidence to back up their claims.
Wakeford continues to give Bosasa-related evidence at the commission.
He said that he had considered the relevant portions of the affidavits deposited by Agrizzi and Vorster, as well as their oral evidence before the commission.
He also stated that in both instances, the witnesses have made false, malicious, scant, vague and unsubstantiated allegations. He said these had been deliberately crafted and given to deceive the commission.
"I unequivocally deny these allegations made by these witnesses seeking to implicate me in corruption and fraud in relation to Bosasa and the Department of Home Affairs, Sars (the SA Revenue Service), or any other organ of State,”said Wakeford.
Agrizzi previously told the commission that Wakeford allegedly received R100 000 a month for helping Bosasa “resolve its Sars issues”.
“My banking records and Bosasa financial records between myself and Aggrizzi all confirm I was a consultant at Bosasa from 2006 to April 2015 on a monthly retainer of R57 000 including vat and R50 000 excluding vat, this amount never changed. The only occasion I was paid R100 000 per month was when I had not been paid my retainer in previous months. It is for this reason that the average receipts from Bosasa’s 107-month period was only 58 000 as an average,” said Wakeford.
He also made reference to evidence regarding cement valued at R600 000 which was allegedly provided by Bosasa to George Papadakis (a senior Sars official) in exchange for him influencing the alleged major Sars investigation between March 10, 2008 and February 26, 2009.
“Papadakis could not receive cement in 2009 as compensation for influencing a major Sars investigation as no Sars investigation occurred over this period. The first audit conducted only commenced two years later in 2011,” he said.
Wakeford also challenged whether payments were made by Bosasa to Radha Krishnar in exchange for him awarding Bosasa with a five year extension to the Lindela contract.
“There was no five-year extension to the 2005 Lindela contract between Bosasa and Home Affairs awarded at all, he said he had evidence,” said Wakeford.
He said his relationship with the late Gavin Watson started in the 1980s while he was a student at a Port Elizabeth University, where he was recruited to the ANC underground cell structures.
Wakeford said from 1999 to 2002 he was a chief executive of the SA Chamber of Business. He was a whistle-blower regarding rapid depreciation of the currency of the country, as a consequence of that his life took a different turn; he was unemployed.
“I had to become a consultant because my family and I wouldn't have survived. In 2006 I was contracted by Watson to provide consultancy, especially when a business was experiencing threat,” said Wakeford.
According to Wakeford, his appointment had been suggested by Watson directly due to his personal experience with him, which he said he believed angered Agrizzi, as he saw anyone who had a direct relationship with Watson as a threat to his own relationship with Watson, and the control of the business.
He said Agrizzi appeared to view economic inclusion and Afrocentricity as a burden rather than a necessity.
Wakeford highlighted that Bosasa was a growing BEE business which could become a benchmark for how black economic empowerment principles could be successfully implemented, adding some time after meeting Agrizzi, he expressed to Watson his concerns about Agrizzi's character and attitude.
He told the commission that on the recording that was made of Agrizzi at his home on August 24, 2018, speaking about the black community collectively, he said, "they steal, they loot, they rape, they destroy“.
Wakeford, speaking about Agrizzi, stated that "I will personally go into that company, with or without permission , and I will f*** each of those f*****s out there", referring to the black directors of the company.
He added that Agrizzi stated "that k****r needs a good hiding"; he says he was referring to a respectable attorney, Peter Tshiseve.
“Agrizzi referred to black director at Bosasa, Trevor Mathenjwa, as his pet monkey Romeo. Agrizzi has a monkey at his home named Romeo. He referred to directors of Bosasa as monkeys, dysfunctional, incompetent and used the ‘K’ word, he is racist,” said Wakeford.
ntombi.nkosi@inl.co.za
Political Bureau