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Legality cloud as DTI defends R7m funding to Manyi-linked BBC

Cape Town – The revelation that the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) donated R7m to the Black Business Council (BBC) in the last three years was defended by the department, while the Democratic Alliance (DA) questioned its legality.

Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies revealed the funding in a Parliamentary written reply to a question posed by DA MP Werner Horn.

“Over the past three years, a transfer payment of R7m was paid to the Black Business Council as appropriated,” he said.

“The objective of the transfer payment was to strengthen and promote advocacy and the roll-out of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Amendment … and in particular, the Black Industrialist Programme.”

Defending the donation, DTI director general Lionel October told Business Day on Thursday that the DTI  “provided similar types of funding to other business and industry organisations and regarded this as a vital part of its work”.

Responding to the revelation on Thursday, DA MP Geordin Hill-Lewis said it “is suspicious, at best, and possibly illegal for the DTI to fund an organisation with public funds, with no clear deliverables or requirements in return for the money, with no audit trail of the money, and with seemingly no competitive process followed in awarding the money.

“It is also unacceptable for one government department – the DTI – to be funding an organisation which is at the forefront of sustained attacks on another government department – the Treasury,” he said in a statement.

Digging into Manyi-linked funding?

It appears that the DA is quizzing all government departments who fund organisations attacking National Treasury regarding “white monopoly capital” and who are linked to Mzwanele “Jimmy” Manyi, a former ANC spin doctor who is seen as a staunch supporter of the Guptas and President Jacob Zuma.

Manyi is head of policy at the BBC and president of the Progressive Professionals Forum (PPF).

“The BBC also openly supported the charging of Minister Gordhan, and is closely connected to Mzwanele Jimmy Manyi, who is himself close to the Gupta family,” said Hill-Lewis.

Two weeks ago, DA MP David Maynier criticised Eskom and Transnet for donating R840 000 to the forum. “The fact is that sponsoring Jimmy Manyi and the Progressive Professionals Forum was simply wrong,” he said in a statement.

Maynier said the forum “is deeply involved in politics and which campaigns against the Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan and National Treasury”.

Manyi causes Fica Bill delay

The battle between Manyi and Treasury was also revealed when Zuma sent the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) Act amendment bill back to Parliament in December, six months after it landed on his desk, after the objections raised by the BBC and the PPF.

“I have given consideration to the bill in its entirety and certain submissions regarding the constitutionality of the bill. After consideration of the bill and having applied my mind to it, I am of the view that certain provisions of the bill do not pass constitutional muster," Zuma said in referring the bill back to Parliament.

After more hearings into the bill, which gave Manyi and BBC president Danisa Baloyi an opportunity to criticise the bill, Parliament approved it in late February.

Opposition MPs laid into Zuma for wasting Parliament's time by referring the FIC Bill back to the National Assembly in November due to "constitutional reservations" and implied it was done with ulterior motives.

The bill will once again be sent to Zuma for ratification after another round of public hearings and deliberations which resulted in minor amendments to the original bill which had been passed in May last year.

Both Manyi and Baloyi warned that they would take it on constitutional review if passed by Zuma.

"We cannot scrap this bill," warned deputy director general of the National Treasury Ismail Momoniat during a hearing on January 25. "It would be irresponsible and take this country backwards. South Africa opted to go beyond Peps to Pips (politically influential people)."

Kiss and make up

During a heated exchange at the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) in Johannesburg on February 26, a few days after the Budget Speech, Gordhan accused the BBC of trying to “capture” National Treasury, according to sources who wish to remain anonymous, City Press reported.

Gordhan said people needed to be honest about their political intentions. “The public is very aware of what is going on. They know your agenda is to destroy Treasury ... to capture Treasury, but the public knows what is right and wrong.”

Another person at the meeting told City Press that Gordhan accused the BBC of “representing a single family” – an apparent reference to the Guptas. Manyi then asked Gordhan to retract this statement, which he refused to do, the second source told City Press.

Fin24 reported on March 3 that Treasury and the BBC had buried the hatchet amid friction on radical economic transformation in South Africa.

The delegation from National Treasury was led by Gordhan and included his deputy Mcebisi Jonas. The BBC delegation was led by its president Danisa Baloyi and the national office bearers.

The BBC and National Treasury indicated in a joint statement on Friday that the meeting sought to discuss various "strategic" issues.

"The meeting was characterised by robust and frank discussions. It was agreed that further engagements both at strategic and technical level will continue."

Although Treasury said in a tweet the meeting "was a closed bilateral", BBC secretary general George Sebulela told Fin24 by phone the meeting was "very fruitful".

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