Minister of Employment and Labour Nomakhosazana Meth has welcomed the recent Supreme Court of Appeal’s (SCA) dismissal of the application by founder of Thuja Capital Holdings, Mthunzi Mdwaba, over his R5 billion jobs scheme.
Mdwaba’s application to appeal against judgments and other orders handed down by the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, early this year was dismissed with costs on August 15 by the SCA.
On April 19, the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, set aside Mdwaba’s R5 billion jobs scheme agreement and declared it invalid. This came after the court found that the agreement was entered into between the department and Thuja Capital without compliance with relevant provisions of the Public Finance Management Act.
Furthermore, acting Judge Japie Maritz ordered Mdwaba to refrain from making defamatory claims against then employment and labour minister Thulas Nxesi.
In November, Mdwaba had accused Nxesi and other high-ranking government officials of trying to solicit a bribe from him, while Nxesi insisted that the jobs scheme was signed without the knowledge of the executive authority or of National Treasury.
In the latest SCA ruling, Mdwaba was ordered to pay the former minister’s costs of the application, including costs for two legal counsels.
Reacting to the recent court order, Minister Meth said she is happy that the matter has been put to rest as the latest judgment -- which cannot be appealed -- is the final determination.
“I am pleased that the SCA has finally brought this protracted Thuja jobs scheme matter to closure.
“This judgment is significant to us as the department and the workers whose UIF money was preserved through the aversion of this irregular transaction.
“It goes to show that as the government, we do not take lightly the responsibility placed upon us to safeguard the money reserved for workers.
“Indeed, certainty and clarity about the oversight responsibility, bestowed upon political office-bearers deployed in government was elevated through this matter,” the minister said on Tuesday.
In April, Nxesi called on Mdwaba to produce evidence that he and other ministers, including ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula, had solicited a R500 million bribe from him.
“If he cannot produce that evidence, I have asked the court for an interdict to stop him from promoting his campaign of false and unsupported lies.
“I have, in simple terms taken the decision to have the agreement concluded by the UIF with Mdwaba set aside, because it was concluded in breach of Section 54(2) of the PFMA (Public Finance Management Act),” said Nxesi.
Responding to ‘The Star’, Mdwaba revealed that he and his team are still studying the latest judgment and will only be able to comment once this is done.
“No, we are studying the document and are looking at our options. All I can say is that we are being suppressed,” he said.
Mdwaba said he was approached by people representing the three ministers (Blade Nzimande, Nxesi and Enoch Godongwana) and Mbalula. They had requested a share of 10% from an Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) jobs scheme that he had secured to create jobs for the UIF.
The Star
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