Alex shutdown: DA, ANC in blame-game as protest set to spread to Sandton

The ANC and DA in Gauteng have hit out at each other after tense protests, which is set to intensify, rocked Alexandra.

The DA’s Gauteng premier candidate, Solly Msimanga, laid a complaint at the Alexandra police station on Sunday.

However, the ANC in the provinces labelled it as a “cheap political stunt”.   The DA in Gauteng claims that the Alexandra protests have been orchestrated by the governing party to influence the upcoming elections.

DA Gauteng premier candidate Solly Msimanga plans to lay a criminal complaint against the ANC on Sunday morning, alleging the party is behind the violent protests that have gripped Alexandra since Wednesday.

So far, leaders of the Alexandra total-shutdown movement have indicated that they are suspending their protests until the early hours of Monday morning. They say their next target is Sandton, which is one of the country’s most affluent suburbs and where the Johannesburg Stock Exchange is situated.  

Speaker after speaker on Friday, during a public meeting, vowed that barricading and burning tyres in the streets of Alexandra had yielded no results. They all agreed that residents of Sandton and its neighbouring suburbs would be awoken by smoke billowing in the area at the start of the week.

They have threatened to block Grayston Drive and major routes around Sandton with burning tyres, in order to get the attention of City of Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba.

Alexandra residents have been calling for Mashaba to come and address their demands since Wednesday. Earlier this week Mashaba sent his MMC Michael Sun to the area, despite requests that he come to the township. Sun, was booed while trying to address the crowd, with some even hurling racial insults at him.  

Mashaba said he did not attend the mass meeting on Friday because there was no agreement in place. He added that he was leading a civic funeral at the same time and could not have made such a commitment.

Mashaba promised to visit the area on April 15.  

READ: Alexandra residents consider taking protests to Sandton to get mayor’s attention

Msimanga said in a statement on Saturday that he will be accompanied by DA Johannesburg Regional Chairperson, Tsepo Mhlongo and DA Alexandra Constituency Head, Mervyn Cirota when he lays a criminal complaint of incitement of violence against the ANC at the Alexandra police station.

“The charges also include the influencing of the outcome of the upcoming general elections through instigating a protest in a peaceful Alexandra township. The violent and destructive action that took place in Alexandra was not a service delivery protest but rather criminal chaos, which is being carefully coordinated by the ANC and its affiliates.

Former Free State MEC for economic development Mxolisi Dukwana on Friday alleged that he was fired by former Free State premier and current ANC secretary general Ace Magashule for not approving a multimillion-rand Gupta-linked contract in 2012.

Dukwana took to the stand at the Zondo commission of inquiry into state capture on Friday, delivering damning testimony over how he was roped into a meeting with Rajesh “Tony” Gupta by Magashule at the Gupta compound in late 2011.

Gupta allegedly offered him R2m in cash if he signed a letter appointing Gupta-linked businessman Iqbal Sharma’s company to undertake the development of a master plan for a new “City for Tomorrow” – a project that planned to establish a high-tech urban development somewhere near Welkom.

Magashule was allegedly present when the bribe was offered, along with former president Jacob Zuma’s son, Duduzane Zuma.  

But Dukwana claims he refused.

Dukwana told the commission that, two weeks after the protracted meeting, he received an email from Sharma, who owns Nulane Investments, one of two companies Gupta wanted Dukwana to appoint to oversee the City for Tomorrow project.

The other company, P3 International, was owned by California-based John Thomas, Sharma’s business partner.

‘Did not play their game’

News24 reported on Friday that an unsigned subcontracting agreement between Sharma’s Nulane and a Gupta-owned shelf company in Dubai, Global Corporation LLC, revealed the Gupta’s intention to scoop R80m from the envisaged R140m contract.

Nulane and P3 were banking on Dukwana rubber-stamping an agreement that would have seen the two companies being paid R140m for the development of a master plan for the future city by the Free State Department of Economic Development.

Dukwana claims he “did not play their game” and that the companies were not paid any funds.  

Within weeks of meeting Gupta with Magashule at the family’s infamous Saxonwold compound, Dukwana received an email from Tsephiso Magashule – Ace Magashule’s son – containing a letter written as though Dukwana himself had written it.

The letter gave the impression that Dukwana had approved Nulane and P3’s involvement in the project. Dukwana denied this.

The letter, which News24 has seen, read: “I am pleased to give Nulane Management Services and P3 the Notice to Proceed with the development of the Master Plan for the City of Tomorrow Project, a new city to be designed in the Province of Free State, as well as prepare a Schematic Design for the new Government Centre to be located in the Project.”

‘Their interest was actually to milk the province dry’

While Dukwana’s signature is on the copy of the letter that News24 has seen, Dukwana claims he never signed it, as he did not have the authority as the MEC to approve expenditure.

He claims he told Gupta that only the head of department could approve the project.  

Dukwana told the commission that, although Sharma, Thomas and Gupta had wanted to develop the city through this deal, their interest “was actually to milk the province dry”.

Once Sharma realised that Dukwana wasn’t playing ball, Dukwana says, Sharma threatened legal action over unpaid labour. Two weeks later, however, Dukwana was fired as MEC during a provincial cabinet reshuffle by Magashule.

He said his relationship with Magashule soured following the episode.

Magashule has previously denied Dukwana’s allegations.

Earlier on Friday, Dukwana alleged that Gupta had told him he personally delivered R1m a month to Magashule’s home.

Sharma is the only witness who has applied to cross-examine Dukwana and has submitted an affidavit to the commission.

News24 understands Sharma will allege that Dukwana did sign documents allowing the project to move ahead with Nulane and P3.

READ: IN DEPTH: #GuptaLeaks – The investigation into Ace Magashule, the MEC and the R2m Gupta bribe