The Congress of the People (Cope) found it “unacceptable” that communications minister Siphiwe Nyanda was reportedly let off the hook on four out five complaints they lodged against him relating to comments he made about former Transnet CEO Siyabonga Gama.

“We find it unacceptable,” party member Julie Killian said on Monday. “We believe that this is the time that President Jacob Zuma must demonstrate that he is against corruption,” she said by phone from Brazil.

Though she had not received an official response from the Public Protector, she said she had heard “along the grapevine” that on one complaint, relating to comments he made in defence of Gama, he had been found guilty.

On the other four, he was found not guilty.

In a later statement Cope spokesman Philip Dexter said that although they had not been officially informed of the findings, based on leaks and media reports, they found it unacceptable. “We question whether the Public Protector is in fact nothing more than a toothless wonder,” he said of The Times report that protector Thuli Madonsela would not take punitive action against Nyanda.

“As Cope brought this complaint in the first place, we feel vindicated that this ruling was returned. However given the serious nature of the charges that minister Nyanda has been found guilty of, to not have any sanction is the equivalent of condoning corruption and cronyism.

“The very least that should happen in this instance is the R18m should be put back into state coffers by Nyanda and his business partners.”

Cope lodged the following complaints:

That Nyanda had allegedly been in breach of the executive members’ code of ethics in not declaring his commercial interests in parliament;
That he was in breach of the constitution, which prohibits a minister from undertaking any other paid work or exposing themselves to a situation involving a risk of conflict between their official responsibilities and private interests, or using their position to enrich themselves;
Whether as a former head of the SA National Defence Force, with retirement benefits, he should still qualify in tender processes which the constitution intends should be for the advancement of people disadvantaged by unfair discrimination;
Whether he benefited improperly from contracts awarded to Abazoli, which had alleged links to Nyanda; and
Whether he made remarks in defence of Gama, who awarded a contract to a company allegedly linked to himself (Nyanda).

The fifth complaint, which he was found guilty of, related to comments he made last September when he said some people were out to destroy Gama.

The Times quoted him saying: “What happened to JZ [Jacob Zuma] is happening in this case. People vilify and cast aspersions [on the man].”

Gama was dismissed as CEO of Transnet Freight Rail on 29 June following a disciplinary committee finding of misconduct.

One of the complaints was that Gama, who only had authority to sign off on contracts valued at less than R10m, allegedly awarded a R19m contract to a security firm, allegedly linked to Gama.

Neither the Public Protector’s spokesperson nor Nyanda’s spokesman was immediately available to comment or confirm the findings.

Killian said that although Nyanda claimed to have withdrawn as a shareholder of the company awarded the tender to, she also claimed that a Nyanda family trust still owned over 40% of the company.

The Christian Democratic Alliance felt Nyanda should step down “until matters that have exploded over his head, have been resolved”.

Recently he threatened to sue Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi for linking him to a call that Zuma investigate allegations of corruption among government ministers.

Vavi had used a media report on a hotel stay as an example of allegations that Zuma should be looking into.

The ANC Youth League however defended Nyanda, saying he should be allowed to express his views. “The reality of the situation is that Siyabonga Gama was not treated fairly in Transnet, and there is nothing wrong with making such an observation,” the Youth League said in a statement.

The league further suggested that the government institute a commission of inquiry into the “persecution of Siyabonga Gama”. — Sapa