Zondo commission hears more damning testimony against Dudu Myeni
The commission of inquiry into state capture heard that former South African Airways (SAA)chairperson Dudu Myeni offered an acting procurement officer a permanent position, provided he implemented an unlawful instruction.
Former acting SAA procurement officer Masimba Dahwa appeared before the commission on Friday.
Dahwa was appointed in 2014 when the airline was implementing a transformation strategy for which he was responsible.
He said the board, led by Myeni, made a resolution to implement a 30% government procurement policy for small and medium enterprises announced by former president Jacob Zuma in his February 2015 State of the National Address.
Dahwa says Treasury and the Department of Trade and Industry made it clear that it would be unlawful for SAA to implement this policy, as it did not have the correct requirements. However, Myeni was adamant that implementing the strategy should form part of SAA's transformation process.
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He told the commission that Myeni soon made comments which concerned him.
"The chairperson from nowhere advised the audience that I was the acting procurement officer. And for me to secure a permanent position I needed to take instructions from her and made sure I implemented them. She said if I did not do so she would not appoint me in a permanent position."
From this point, Myeni and the former chairperson of the SAA audit and risk committee, Yakhe Kwinana, allegedly continued to pressure him to implement the policy and to award a company a tender in line with this strategy.
"To them, it was like my behavior was insubordination, I just don't want. But that was not the case like I am saying right now and I will say it chair, if I had a way of implementing it without breaking the law I would have done so."
He said at some point Kwinana called him to a meeting, which Myeni also attended, and pressured him to draft a letting awarding a company a position in an already-existing contract as a third party.
"I went to my office and drafted something but my conscience would not allow me to sign it. I took it to them and the chair who seemed like she was going to sign it changed her mind and said I should draft in for the CEO, Thuli Mpshe to sign it."
Dahwa said Mpshe also refused to sign the letter as it would have been unlawful.
Myeni apparently then warned that the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) could be marching to SAA to protests against the lack of transformation at SAA, saying the EFF wanted to get rid of Zimbabwean nationals like him.
Evidence leader Kate Hofmeyr confirmed that Myeni had sent a letter through her lawyers, indicating she would be cross-examining Dahwa and Mpshe, who will be testifying at a later stage.
Myeni's lawyers have not yet submitted the application to cross-examine the witnesses.