The announcement by former Treasury DG Dondo Mogajane that he will step down from all his professional roles after VBS corruption claims has raised questions about the fate of justice minister Thembi Simelane.
Mogajane, in a statement, said he would be stepping down from all his professional roles while he addresses corruption allegations made in a court affidavit by convicted VBS fraudster Tshifhiwa Matodzi who claimed he had paid Mogajane a R1 million bribe while he was at Treasury.
Mogajane has denied all the allegations and said that he would continue to fight for his innocence.
Mogajane has various professional roles, including chairperson of the board of trustees of the Government Employees Pension Fund and he is a member of the board of directors of the BRICS New Development Bank.
"My reputation has been put in question. Currently, some false allegations have been made by a convicted felon, and I categorically deny any wrongdoing. I don’t want to dwell on that for now; proper processes must be followed. I fully understand the consequences of these allegations, and I am humbly going to step down from all boards that I currently sit on," he said in the statement.
He said that he would take an extended sabbatical to focus on personal well-being and spend time with his family.
“I believe in the importance of due process and remain confident that, in time, the truth will prevail,” he said.
“While this chapter of my career has drawn to a close, it is not the conclusion of my story. This period marks a pause, not an endpoint. At a later stage, I may decide to possibly re-enter the private sector and maybe even politics,” Mogajane said.
Meanwhile, President Cyril Ramaphosa has not made a decision on Simelane, who took a loan from a company implicated in the VBS Mutual Bank scandal.
In September, Simelane sent a report to Ramaphosa on the matter and the presidency said: “The president appreciates the importance of the justice ministry in the leadership of the justice, security and crime prevention cluster and the successful functioning of the cluster.
“He (Ramaphosa) will consider all the facts of the matter before making any determination.”
Simelane has denied all the allegations against her and in September told the portfolio committee on justice she had given Ramaphosa a full account of her decision to borrow R575 000 from Gundo Wealth Solutions while she was the mayor of Polokwane.
The same company had solicited deposits of millions of rands from the Polokwane municipality on behalf of VBS, despite public finance rules barring municipalities from placing money with mutual banks.