DA to file criminal charges against Thembi Simelane amid new corruption scandal

By Staff Reporter

The DA says it will lay criminal charges against Human Settlements Minister Thembi Simelane after she was named in a News24 investigation involving Eskom and contractor Vitrovian, alleging that she was paid R700 000 during her employment at Vitrovian to provide community liaison services aimed at stopping wage protests at Eskom’s Kusile power plant.

The party said it will also be writing to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to follow up on another investigation on Simelane’s alleged involvement with a VBS Mutual Bank loan and it wants President Cyril Ramaphosa to remove Simelane from Cabinet.

The allegations against Simelane in the Vitrovian investigation allege that the company inflated charges and billed Eskom for work done by ghost employees.

“Simelane’s signature appears on the very first of these inflated invoices,” pointed out DA spokesperson on Justice and Constitutional Development Advocate Glynnis Breytenbach.

“The DA is astonished by the President’s continued insistence on hiding what he knows about Simelane’s corrupt dealings from the public. The DA