'Wimpish' Magosi receives Kgosi deal equipment
Staff Writer | Friday October 5, 2018 15:14
DIS director general, Peter Magosi continues to receive the Israeli equipment in what seems to be unheeded calls and failing attempts to end the arms deal for the acquisition of security equipment and surveillance platform with associated training.
Magosi’s predecessor, Isaac Kgosi had signed the deal,which the former claimed, or deemed to be unprocedural, with Israeli company, Dignia Systems in November 2017. On August 13, 2018, Magosi wrote to Dignia Systems telling them that DIS cannot continue with the contract because of the way it was entered into being irregular and not conforming to standard government procurement procedures. Dignia Systems did not take kindly to Magosi’s letter and responded to him in kind.
The Israelis gave Magosi a few days to fulfil his obligations in terms of the agreement between the company and the spy agency. It now turns out that Magosi’s threat to cancel the contract was just a bluff.
Mmegi can disclose that there were deliveries between August 18, 2018 and August 23, 2018.
The orders were received and delivered to consignee. Now sources close to the developments are wondering why Magosi is not living up to his warnings to suspend the contract as threatened.
“Kgosi was the head of DIS in charge of procurement. He alone could decide what DIS needed. As you have seen, everything he ordered has arrived and keeps arriving and being received by government.
“Magosi was just acting macho by threatening the Israelis,” a deep throat whispered.
There is an ongoing criminal matter in which asset manager, Bakang Seretse and others have been charged with money-laundering, by funding the DIS and Dignia Systems contract and diverting P230 million he received from the National Petroleum Fund (NPF). The deal floundered, however, after Seretse, former energy affairs department director, Kenneth Kerekang and another asset manager, Botho Leburu, were arrested for their alleged roles in routing the funds to the Israelis.
“The question is, who has laundered what? These are legitimate government contracts and legitimate suppliers. What are people looking for really that has not already been fully disclosed?
“The problem is that Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime was quick to charge people before thorough investigations were conducted. This is just bad faith at its best,” the source wondered. Meanwhile, the DIS is still to respond to Dignia Systems’ notice to sue.