It’s tough to muster the energy to become angry at yet another massive corruption scandal, but we’ll do our best because it seems the right thing to do.

It is the allegations by Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa’s (Prasa) Chairperson Popo Molefe that are grabbing headlines, made under oath and filed at the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg by Prasa earlier.

Central to the allegations is this from News24:

Molefe alleges under oath that the supplier of Prasa’s controversial Afro 4000 locomotives paid R80 million to “entities who were not creditors” of the company after an Angolan businesswoman had insisted that ten percent of the tender’s value be paid to the ANC.

Yes, this deal would include those trains that were too tall for our rail network (HERE).

The ANC are denying any knowledge of such a payment, but perhaps the money trail will show differently:

According to the affidavit and its accompanying supporting documents, [tender winner Swifambo’s managing director Auswell] Mashaba ended up making a series of payments totaling roughly R80 million to Similex, a company of which Gomes is a director, and to lawyer George Sabelo, a business partner of one of Zuma’s sons.

BusinessTech getting in on the act, with more on that Gomes / Zuma link:

The company of a Maria da Cruz Gomes – who is an Angolan businesswoman who Zuma regularly visited in her plush home in a Sandton – allegedly received payments totaling R40 million in the deal.

A further R39 million was allegedly paid to a law firm with ties to the president.

I think the picture painted is a pretty clear one, and unfortunately so many of us just gloss over stories such as these because they have become so commonplace.

Of course these are just allegations at the moment, but given what we’ve seen come before they’re pretty believable.

Paying back Nkandla ain’t looking so tough at present for ‘ol JZ…

[sources:news24&businesstech]