Justice Minister Thembi Simelane.
It doesn’t rain but pours for Justice Minister Thembi Simelane over the controversial coffee shop loan linked to the VBS saga.
This follows after the Hawks effected a quest and seizure warrant on Simelane’s former PA at the Polokwane Municipality last week geared to get corruption evidence linked to the municipality's R349 million investments with the now defunct VBS Mutual Bank in 2016 and 2017 which gave birth to violation of the Municipal Financial Management Act.
A copy of the warrant dated 29 August 2024, and a copy of the affidavit filed by Colonel Anton White of the Hawks in Limpopo in support of the warrant was seen by the media.
At that time, she went by her ex-husband surname Nkadimeng and she brokered unlawful investments of R349 million into VBS Bank by Polokwane Municipality while was a Mayor. The Polokwane Municipality invested R130 million with VBS Mutual Bank, making an R50 million investment in September 2016 and an R80 million investment a month later. Both of these investments were unlawful.
Minister Simelane failed to convince Parliament’s Justice Committee following reports that she received a R575 600 loan from the Gundo Wealth Solutions in 2016 to purchase a coffee shop in Sandton during her tenure as the Executive Mayor of Polokwane Municipality.
The loan was paid directly to the owner of a coffee shop in Sandton, which Simelane was purchasing, in late 2016. Gundo Wealth Solutions is owned by Rallion Razwinane who is directly linked to the illegitimate investments of municipal funds into the now non-operational VBS Mutual Bank.
Razwinane is currently on trial for fraud, corruption, and money laundering following his role as a commission agent connecting municipalities which included Polokwane Municipality, with the VBS.
Minister Simelane, the spouse of the controversial former Road Agency Limpopo (RAL) board chairperson Matome Ralebipi which milked the State purse without accelerating and delivering on its mandate didn’t respond to The Azanian questions when pressed for comment. She also ignored calls despite several attempts to contact her.
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