Nothing wrong with VBS broker granting me a loan: Simelane

Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Thembi Simelane says she did not have an improper relationship with the contractor employed by the Polokwane municipality or received improper benefits.

It emerged recently that Simelane received a R 575 000 loan from an accused VBS investment broker in 2016.

According to media reports, the funds from the bank were used to purchase a coffee shop in Sandton, Johannesburg, while she was Mayor of Polokwane Municipality in Limpopo.

At the time, Gundo Wealth Solutions brokered investments on behalf of the collapsed VBS Mutual Bank.

After being summoned to appear before Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Justice over alleged dodgy dealings with VBS, which imploded in 2018, she presented her report and statement to Members of Parliament in Cape Town.

She says, “I asked Gundo for advice on how best to finance and they offered me a loan product that I could access such a loan. Gundo was not a service provider and there existed no conflict of interest, in my view, in securing a loan from Gundo. I took a decision to proceed with the steps. I would like to draw to a close and affirm that there was no improper relationship, I requested for a loan and a loan was advanced.”

Live stream | Simelane appears before the Parliament Committee: