Kodwa: R1m from EOH director was loan to buy car
Deputy Minister of State Security Zizi Kodwa has confirmed to the commission of inquiry into state capture that he received a R1 million loan from former executive director of EOH Jehan MacKay in 2015.
At the time, Kodwa was the spokesperson for the African National Congress (ANC).
In May, the commission heard that Kodwa received some R2 million from MacKay in direct payments and luxury accommodation.
The revelations were made by ENS Forensics Managing Director Steven Powell, who was requested by the commission to review Kodwa's bank statements after his name appeared in the EOH's money trail.
On Monday, Kodwa appeared at the commission to respond to the evidence.
"I obtained a loan of R1 million from Mr MacKay, R890 000 of which went to the purchase of a Jeep vehicle. I confirm that this was a loan from a friend and no strings attached,” he said.
"I obtained it at a time of financial difficulty as I would not have been able to secure a bank guarantee. It was also flexible for me as MacKay indicated that I would not have to rush making payments until I felt my finances had been stabilised.”
Kodwa denied that MacKay paid for his stay at luxurious hotels in Cape Town.
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He said MacKay allowed him to stay at properties he owned.
"It is not correct that Mr MacKay paid for my hotel accommodation whatsoever. Mr MacKay has several properties in Cape Town and as a friend I often slept at his properties as and when I could.
"He had made his homes or properties available to me whenever I visited Cape Town. As said above, he also made properties available to him available to me, not all the properties he made available are owned by him," said Kodwa.
He added that there was nothing untoward about this agreement between them, as MacKay demanded no payment.
EOH paid R64 712 for the accommodation stays, which included a private chef.
The company linked the payments to a tender between South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) and EOH for support and maintenance for SASSA's Enterprise Resource Planning ERP Oracle.
Kodwa said he was unaware of any link between the payments and a tender and was not involved.
