Cosatu+slams+Gautrain+fat+cats,+Fin24

Fin24, Johannesburg, 26/11/2006 16:32
=Cosatu slams Gautrain fat cats=

Johannesburg - Cosatu was outraged by reports that two cabinet ministers and national assembly speaker [|Baleka Mbete] have shares in the consortium that is building the high-speed Gautrain, a spokesperson said on Sunday.

"The reports reinforced the belief expressed in Cosatu's recent congress that a worryingly growing number of ANC and government leaders had a personal self-enrichment culture," said the Congress of SA Trade Unions' spokesperson Patrick Craven.

He was responding to a report in the Sunday Times that Home Affairs Minister [|Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula] and Education Minister [|Naledi Pandor] were part of the shareholding structure of the Bombela Consortium which won the R23bn bid.

Unless the ministers, Mbete and the "long list of ANC officials" implicated in the report refuted these allegations, greed and selfishness had clearly overtaken the culture of service for the people, said Craven in a statement.

"We reiterate the call that public representatives must choose between a career of serving the people and a business career."


 * Plush salaries not enough**

He said too many political leaders sought to live beyond even the plush salaries they earned as public representatives.

"They tend to compete about how big their houses and 4X4 vehicles are, where they went on holiday and how expensive their children's private schools are.

"You cannot be a representative of the people at the same time as being a capitalist - these roles are inherently contradictory," said Craven.

The Sunday Times reported that the ministers confirmed they had taken part in cabinet meetings at which the Gautrain project was discussed and approved last December - against the advice of parliament's portfolio committee on transport.

MPs reportedly objected because they believed the train "served the already comfortable middle class".

They claimed it excluded vast portions of the society through its ticket pricing and connections to other transport modes.


 * Unaware of connection**

The newspaper said Mapisa-Nqakula and Mbete had shares in Dyambu Holdings, while Pandor was involved in Black Management Forum Investments (BMFI).

Mapisa-Nqakula's spokesperson Mike Ramagoma was quoted as saying when the minister sat in the cabinet meetings, she was unaware that Dyambu was part of the consortium.

He said: "If the minister had been aware that Dyambu was involved in Gautrain, she would have recused herself from cabinet discussions on the project".

Pandor denied her shareholding in BMFI constituted a conflict of interest because "I am an ordinary shareholder and not involved in decision-making in BMFI".

Mbete's spokesperson Luzuko Jacobs was not immediately available for comment on Sunday.


 * From: http://www.fin24.co.za/articles/default/display_article.aspx?Nav=ns&ArticleID=1518-25_2036072**

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