Is ACSA CEO Maseko corrupt? Here’s Paul O’Sullivan’s forthright perspective

My explosive interview with Dominic Ntsele who defended ACSA chief executive Bongani Maseko, elicited lots of interest. Not all of it positive. A good friend entrusted me with some unsolicited insights from his financial advisor who claimed that Ntsele “clearly hasn’t read the forensic report”, claimed that Maseko was not to be trusted and that “I haven’t ever heard anything about the Guptas at ACSA.” As my pal is a respected leader in civic society whose opinions shape those of many others, I went a little further. For one thing, Ntsele has most definitely read the report from which the trumped-up charged were drawn, and so can you. It is embedded below. For another, I asked straight shooting forensic investigator Paul O’Sullivan to deviate from the major theme of our interview to give me his thoughts on Bongani Maseko. Sometimes you wonder why empty vessels don’t just keep their dumb opinions to themselves. – Alec Hogg

Paul O'Sullivan: I've known Bongani Maseko for 20 years and know he is a man of integrity
Paul O’Sullivan: I’ve known Bongani Maseko for 20 years and know he is a man of integrity

Alec Hogg asked Paul O’Sullivan for his view of Bongani Maseko, the chief executive of ASCA who resisted the Gupta curry and faces suspension because of “evidence” contained in a dubious investigation… 

I’ve known Bongani for I suppose almost 20 years and it’s ironic that Bongani is now in this position because it must be about 16 or 15 years ago I was in a similar position where I was a group executive with Airports Company and I was responsible for security at all the airports in South Africa and I was singled out by Jackie Selebi. In fact that’s what triggered the whole Jackie Selebi saga, but I did work. Even before I joined the board of ACSA, I was working with Bongani because when I first met him he was the Assistant Manager at Johannesburg International Airport and he then became the General Manager at the airport and I always found him to be an upright guy.

In fact, when I was in the border police, it was Bongani that authorised the Airports Company to construct additional offices for the border police and they also built some holding cells on the air side, so that the people that we were intercepting on human trafficking, we didn’t have to bring them into the country, we turned them in on the air side. In the ensuing period, of course, like in any other business you know, there would be friction from time to time and Bongani and I, we had a little bit of friction, but it was all professional.

I never saw anything. In fact, a number of occasions, because I did highlight corruption while I was working at Airports Company, but there was never any corruption involving Bongani and I have to say that I approached Bongani, I can’t remember if it was last year or the year before, but I approached him because we flagged up some corruption involving people that were working at Port Elizabeth Airport and I immediately communicated to him and he moved very quickly and those people have been dealt with, I think they’ve all been fired.

So you’ve dealt with a lot of corrupt people in the past, bad people. He’s not one of those?

Definitely not, and if I was in a position where I wanted to employ somebody to run airports for me in South Africa, I can’t think of anybody better than Bongani for that position.

Dominic Ntsele is claiming that these are trumped up charges in a kangaroo court. I suppose it rings a few bells with you. Do you think that, given your experience that they are telling the truth or might there be something more to this?

Well, yes as you say, I’ve been there and done that. I think the best way to flush this out is to have an independent chairman of the disciplinary enquiry, have somebody nominated by the arbitration foundation or something like that, a senior council, somebody with good standing and let that person manage the disciplinary process and let both sides put their story. I don’t have any inside knowledge at this moment in time, but if somebody else needs to make a call as to whether or not Bongani was a corrupt person, I would say I can’t believe it. It certainly wouldn’t seem right to me.

Forensic Report: Investigation on behalf of ACSA Board into alleged irregularities in SCM

Visited 308 times, 1 visit(s) today