HIBAPRESS-RABAT
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has sent a memo to his Justice Minister Thembi Simelane demanding full information on her involvement in the VBS Mutual Bank scandal.
The bank, in which the municipality of Polokwane, the capital of the Limpopo province (north-west), had invested 349 million rand, has since gone bankrupt.
Since her appointment last July, Thembi Simelane has overseen the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), which investigates and prosecutes crimes linked to the collapse of the VBS.
The opposition believes there is a conflict of interest because the minister responsible for bringing justice to this major corruption scandal, dubbed “the big heist,” is implicated. It is demanding that an investigation be opened and the Minister of Justice resign.
A 2018 South African Reserve Bank report revealed that $130 million was stolen from VBS over three years by more than 50 people, including businessmen and politicians.
