ANC MP Vincent Smith
Image source, screengrab via People’s Assembly website
Former parly committee chair has no proof of Bosasa ‘loan’
While Vincent Smith has admitted to receiving nearly R700 000 from former Bosasa COO Angelo Agrizzi, he insists it was for a loan
ANC MP Vincent Smith
Image source, screengrab via People’s Assembly website
The former Chairperson of the Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services, Vincent Smith, has failed to provide documents to support his claim that more than R670 000 he had received from Bosasa, was in fact a loan.
Smith appeared before the State Capture Inquiry on Friday, September 4, 2020, to give testimony in relation to a series of allegations made by the company’s former Chief Operations Officer (COO) Angelo Agrizzi.
“There were no such documents. If the commission is asking was there a written loan agreement, there was no such documents. I’m not a lawyer but my understanding was that this type of loan didn’t need a written agreement. There was no such agreement”, he told Chairperson Raymond Zondo.
Smith said he believed Bosasa CEO Gavin Watson didn’t require an agreement on paper simply because he trusted him.
He said the money was meant for paying towards his daughter’s tuition fees overseas.
Smith: ‘There was nothing untoward about the loan’
“I think it was a matter of trust and if indeed there was going to be a requirement for a written agreement, I don’t think it would have been a problem. It would have been a one liner because in my own financial statements which were audited, it is raised as a loan, chairperson”, he said.
“So in my mind, there was nothing untoward about it. It was there, it still is there…I don’t recall either myself or Mr Agrizzi suggesting that it should be reduced to writing”.
Evidence leader Advocate Viwe Notshe questioned how he thought it was it was appropriate for him to seek financial assistance, given the potential conflict of interest, Smith said the agreement was only reached a year after he ended his tenure at the committee.
Smith also reportedly received security upgrades at his home worth R200‚000 and an additional R100‚000 in cash monthly from Watson – which he has consistently denied.
He told the commission he had intended to cash shares he had bought, to pay Agrizzi back.
“In terms of the loan, I had bought shares in Euro Blitz so I told Mr Agrizzi that when the shares mature, I was going to pay him back as I needed to pay school fees at the time. We had discussed the loans in an email in which I requested assistance,” he said.
