- Testimony by Yakhe Kwinana, a former board member of South African Airways and the ex-chair of the board of SAA Technical, continued to elicit reactions of disbelief from Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo.
- Kwinana was questioned about her participation in an apparent illegal strategy by some SAA board members to have 30% of awarded contracts to suppliers set aside for BEE companies.
- Treasury had instructed the board that this would be illegal and should be stopped immediately.
The continued testimony of Yakhe Kwinana, a former board member of South African Airways and the ex-chair of SAA Technical, at the judicial commission of inquiry into state capture has once again elicited an astounded exclamation of "sjoe!" from Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo.
Zondo is the chairperson of the commission, which was set up by President Cyril Ramaphosa to investigate allegations of state capture, corruption and fraud at state entities, including at the national carrier.
Kwinana was on Tuesday questioned about her participation in what appears to have been an illegal strategy by the SAA board - or at least some of its members - to have 30% of awarded contracts to suppliers set aside for BEE companies. Treasury had instructed the board that this would be illegal and should be stopped immediately.
SAA’s former head of procurement, Dr Masimba Dahwa, had testified at the commission in June 2019 that Kwinana had summoned him by SMS to meet at the SAA building in October 2015 to ask him how far he got with the BEE strategy of the board to set aside 30% of contracts.
Dahwa said he was told to draft an award agreement in favour of Swissport for ground handling at airports, which would involve a BEE company as part of the deal. According to Dahwa, former SAA chair Dudu Myeni later joined the meeting and she and Kwinana tried to convince him to draw up the agreement.
He claimed he was threatened with disciplinary action, and warned that the EFF would be coming to the offices to demonstrate and get rid of Zimbabweans like him and people who stood in the way of transformation.
Dahwa's testimony was substantiated, in part, by former the acting SAA CEO at the time Thuli Mpshe who told the commission in July 2019 that she was at that meeting and warned Dahwa to act according to his conscience and not draw up such an agreement before she left the room. Dahwa testified that he was feeling very distressed about the demands made on him by Kwinana and Myeni.
Evidence leader adv. Kate Hofmeyr on Tuesday put it to Kwinana that this was against instructions by Treasury, who had informed SAA's board that the 30% set-aside policy was illegal and must be stopped immediately.
Denial
On Tuesday Kwinana repeatedly denied ever having been in such a meeting with Dahwa. However, the timeline of evidence indicates that shortly after the date Dahwa claims the meeting took place, Kwinana wrote an email to Myeni suggesting in no uncertain terms that Dahwa must be disciplined.
"You want me to believe you did not have strong feelings towards Dahwa when you wrote and email [to Myeni] in such strong negative terms? Dahwa is a brother from Zimbabwe and also an African. Our brothers and sisters in Zimbabwe also suffered," said Zondo.
"So, you are saying he is doing his best to keep African people in economic bondage? You say he is part of a sinister retrogressive agenda aimed to reverse the transformation agenda of the present government and his actions smacks of insubordination and conspiracy against the SAA board? He has suffered just like the African people in SA! Sjoe!"