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President Jacob Zuma pocketed a “salary” of R1 million a month from a controversial tender mogul without declaring it to the South African Revenue Service (SARS), claims a new book by former Media24 investigative journalist Jacques Pauw.
The President’s Keepers, Pauw’s fifth nonfiction book, hits the shelves this week, and further contains the following startling revelations about Zuma, his ex-wife and ANC presidential candidate Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and a network of shady characters who Pauw claims keep Zuma in power:
*A possible candidate for the Hawks’ top job was accompanied by Duduzane Zuma, the president’s son, to meet the Guptas in Saxonwold before his interview with a ministerial panel;
* Nomgcobo Jiba, the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) disgraced former head, was a covert crime intelligence agent, and
* Dlamini-Zuma’s campaign to become the ANC’s next president is partly being funded by Adriano Mazzotti, an alleged tobacco smuggler who, according to an affidavit in Pauw’s possession, admitted to bribing public officials, laundering money and committing fraud. Mazzotti is a known funder of Julius Malema’s EFF.
In one chapter, Pauw details how a SARS official in 2010 discovered that Zuma had been receiving payments of R1m a month from Royal Security, a company owned by Durban businessman and well-known ANC-supporter Roy Moodley.
The payments were made during the 2009-’10 tax year and Zuma received his “salary” from Moodley’s company for at least four months after he became president in 2009, according to the book.
The company allegedly failed to pay SARS the necessary Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax on their “employee’s” salary, and Zuma also allegedly failed to declare this boon from Royal Security to the tax collector.
According to Pauw, the matter caused for considerable ructions within SARS after the revenue collector raised red flags about the undeclared income.
News24 has previously revealed that a technology firm that won a multibillion-rand contract from the Passenger Rail Agency (Prasa) channeled R550m to another of Moodley’s companies for no apparent business reason.
Jacob Zuma and Roy Moodley. (Sowetan / Thuli Dlamini)
EXCLUSIVE: Zuma friend's R550m bonanza
Zuma’s spokesperson, Bongani Ngqulunga said he would look at News24’s queries around the matters raised in the book, but he did not provide a response.
Moodley appears to have read queries sent to him via Whatsapp, but he also remained mum.
Jiba the “spy”
The President’s Keepers also contains an astonishing account of how Nomgcobo Jiba, a former acting national director of public prosecutions (NDPP), was discovered to have been a covert agent for the police’s crime intelligence unit.
Pauw obtained a crime intelligence document that allegedly exposes Jiba as crime intelligence agent “SA71”. Jiba allegedly flew from Johannesburg to Durban in 2010 at the expense of the crime intelligence secret fund, according to the book.
The revelation has far-reaching implications because of Jiba’s direct role in the NPA’s decision to withdraw fraud and corruption charges against former crime intelligence boss Richard Mdluli.
Jiba, currently the deputy NPA head, was struck from the roll of advocates in 2016 for her role in the NPA’s handling of politically-sensitive cases, including the Mdluli matter, and is on special leave.
News24 tried to phone Jiba and also sent her queries through Whatsapp, but she did not provide comment.
Booysen’s “audience” with the Guptas
According to The President’s Keepers, Johan Booysen, the Hawks’ former provincial head in KwaZulu-Natal, was taken to the Guptas’ residence in Saxonwold, Johannesburg, mere days before he was set to be interviewed by a ministerial panel for the position of national Hawks head.
The alleged meeting took place in August 2015.
It was Duduzane Zuma, President Zuma’s son and one of the Guptas’ long-time business associates, who had been tasked with escorting Booysen from the Gautrain station in Sandton to the Guptas’ compound, writes Pauw.
Rajesh Gupta, the youngest of the Gupta brothers, allegedly made an informal business proposal to Booysen’s son, who was also present at the meeting. Gupta’s offer was declined, according to the book.
The Guptas appeared to have had inside information on the shortlist of candidates for the Hawks’ top job and Rajesh Gupta allegedly told Booysen that he would have to attend a dinner with them once he’d been “elected” as Hawks head.
Booysen later penned his account of the visit to Saxonwold in an affidavit that he gave to acting Hawks head Yolisa Matakata, according to the book.
Some of the book’s other revelations include:
• Arthur Fraser, the State Security Agency’s director-general, was implicated in the running of a parallel intelligence network during his previous stint at the spy agency before 2010. According to the book, an internal SSA probe concluded that Fraser should be charged with treason for his role in the running of the SSA’s Principle Agent Network.
• The ANC has had its own tax problems. In 2011, SARS found that the ruling party owed it R22m in unpaid PAYE taxes.
• Before former acting SARS commissioner Ivan Pillay left the revenue collector, he met with Zuma in 2014 to complain to him about the role of SSA agents and other role-players in a campaign to target and discredit SARS investigators and officials for their work on politically-connected taxpayers.
In a statement issued last night the ANC Women’s League maintained that reports on the sources of Dlamini-Zuma’s campaign were part of a “smear campaign”.
“We wish to categorically state that Dr. Dlamini-Zuma has had no clandestine and dodgy relations with anybody throughout her political career. . . [Her campaign] attracted millions of well-wishers who have volunteered their time, resources and energy to making sure that she becomes victorious in December. Consequently, Dr. Dlamini-Zuma has limited knowledge on all the contributors to the campaign. . .” reads the statement.
Mazzotti did not respond to a request for comment.
The President’s Keepers is published by Tafelberg.
News24 and Tafelberg are owned by Media24.
