I had more than two months to prepare myself for the meeting. I had really good reason to believe that Malaka and Makgolane would go through with the cash offer. I had even scripted certain things that I wanted to put to them, like what Malaka’s relationship with the Mashawanas entailed. The calmness, I think, came from the mental preparation, coupled with a quiet resolve to expose someone who was, by all accounts, involved in stealing money from poor EPWP workers.
4 Likes
No, we are far from done with Malaka, the Waterfall property, and the Collen Mashawana Foundation’s R60m EPWP contract from the IDT… Daily Maverick will in due course publish more on this story.
2 Likes
There are so many layers to this story: the ‘ghost company’ who got the oxygen tender that started it all, Collen Mashawana’s involvement in Malaka’s property, the unpaid EPWP workers, and then the bribe. Is this just the reality of how business is done at government entities? Do you get the sense we’re making any headway in the battle against corruption?
We try and peek under the bonnets of as many SOEs and state bodies as we can… But investigative journalists are a very rare species in this country. We simply can’t get to all of them. Hopefully we still make a big impact with our work on those SOEs and implementing agents that do fall in our crosshairs.
1 Like
That’s a very good question! Obviously, I walked away, and Malaka and Makgolane left soon thereafter. Our security people on the ground settled the bill.
2 Likes
Do you think that your actions and the subsequent investigation has ensured that politicians are going to be more cautious about engaging with journalists to affect the kind of reporting they are doing? Have you ever been approached in the past to change a story? Do you believe your colleauges in the media have accepted bribes to change their reporting?
The IDT really does look like it is absolutely mired in corruption and mismanagement. And unfortunately, I do think the same goes for many government departments, SOEs and other state bodies. We’re not winning the war against corruption, no. And we won’t, not until the Hawks, NPA and other law enforcement bodies are equipped and motivated to tackle corruption in a substantial, meaningful way.
3 Likes
I think this video will have a bit of a cooling effect on this type of conduct, yes, but probably not a lasting one. I was approached once before, when I worked on a major corruption exposé in around 2021. Unfortunately, there has for many years been whispers and allegations that some journalists are on the take to either quash stories or drive agendas on behalf of powerful figures and entities. I don’t have any evidence that this is true, but one does worry about it.
2 Likes
Journalism stings are not that common, to my knowledge. What legal and ethical considerations did you have to navigate when planning and executing the bribery sting?
It’s interesting to me that they didn’t think to settle the bill? They weren’t short on cash 
3 Likes
Adding insult to injury 
They didn’t know at that stage that it was all being recorded. So they should’ve paid the bill.
5 Likes
Are you curious about how they would have siphoned money off to you through tenders? Would it have been possible to take the bribe money under affidavit and then try get more details on the mechanics of the dodgy deals?
Its staggering to think, given the amount of SOE’s that we have, how wide spread this “culture” of corruption is then. SOE’s are meant to be a tool for achieving economic growth more equitably, I thought, does this mean we should be looking at other mechanisms? SOE’s in general seem to be a target for corrupt practices.
3 Likes
One of the reasons they’re not that common is that it takes considerable time and resources to pull them off. Plus, the circumstances that might warrant them are rare in themselves. Ultimately, Daily Maverick and our legal councel agreed that this project was justified and in the public interest. It offered a means to document the brazen corruption that still permeates our body politic, and our society in general.
3 Likes
Many of them have devolved into elaborate looting opportunities, sadly. I agree, I personally think we need a radical rethink in terms of how these entities function, and how they are staffed.
1 Like
Given how brazen and how senior it is in Gov and SOE’s, why do you risk it? I’m totally disillusioned/ disempowered by GNU, I can’t imagine how journalists with integrity cope.
1 Like
We could have dragged the project out that long, sure, to get even more details on the tenders they offered. But I thought we had enough by way of the tender document the spokesperson sent me via whatsapp. Also, I was really eager to get the EPWP/Malaka House story out in the open. Especially for the sake of those EPWP workers who hadn’t been paid. Their stories needed to be heard as soon as possible.
5 Likes
We’re on the hour 
Thank you so much for joining us today, and thank you @PLM for sharing your knowledge. If you enjoyed this format or have any feedback for us, we would love to hear it.
2 Likes
The situation would be far worse if there weren’t journalists and media organisations reporting on these issues. We have to keep on exposing the rot, however futile it may seem at times.
3 Likes
But to the GNU EPWP workers and their ilk are just fodder and expendable and will very likely not vote to change the status quo, and even worse, misguidedly vote for the same rotten leadership we have. How do we educate the electorate? I know exposing the rot is part of it, but does the media have a more proactive role?