Source: Timeslive



Presidential spokesperson Mac Maharaj’s former dealings while Minister of Transport have come under fresh scrutiny with the alleged disclosure of legal and non legal documentation implicating him in the notorious Arms deal. It started with the censorship of the Mail and Guardians lead story this past Friday and was further strengthened by allegations made by the Sunday times only two days later.  Below is a selection of responses by all those involved

  Sunday Times – Carried the story of Maharaj’s profiting from the arms deal on their front page.

 Secret payments totalling 1.2 million French francs (R3.2m) were paid into Zarina's offshore bank accounts shortly before Thales was awarded a R265 million tender by the department of transport, which Maharaj headed at the time.The payments were made via Swiss bank accounts belonging to Schabir Shaik’s company Minderley Investments, which the newspaper said was used as a conduit by Thales and its predecessor Thompson CSF.A copy of a consultancy agreement between Thompson CSF and Minderley Investments had never before been disclosed.It is believed the Scorpions were unable to obtain this agreement, and that this ultimately torpedoed their corruption investigation into Maharaj in 2007.

 

Mail and Guardian – Newspaper who first attempted to publish the story and was censored for doing so.

 

The papers published a story on Maharaj but was forced to blacken out three quarters of the story due to threats of legal action by Maharaj. The story was obviously meant to link Maharaj (then minister of transport) with the Arms deal.

Despite threats of legal action by Maharaj:  the Mail and Guardian said that “the information … was of vital public interest and we have no intention of bowing to his (Maharaj) threat.”

 

 

Mac Maharaj – Presidential spokesperson and Accused.

On Friday morning: “The paper (Mail and Guardian could only have obtained these records through illegitimate means.”

"The fact that the Scorpions did not bring any charges against either of us should make you alive to the fact that the reported insinuations and allegations of unlawful conduct by us implied in your questions may once again result in, and subject us to character assassination and trial by media consciously making use of selective information only," Maharaj stated in his reply to the Sunday Times.

"These issues belong to matters that were investigated by the Scorpions.

"Neither Zarina Maharaj nor I are prepared to subject ourselves to a separate and additional investigation by a member of the media based on isolated aspects of a comprehensive investigation conducted by institutions established and empowered by law to do so," he stated.

Democratic Alliance – Official Opposition

Called on President Jacob Zuma to suspend Maharaj without delay. The DA's spokesperson on transport, Stuart Farrow, said he would ask the public protector to investigate the allegations.