The party says the politicisation of state entities by the deployment of ANC cadres has become a growing trend that afflicts South Africa’s State-Owned Entities (SOE), which only further serves to compound the financial pressures experienced by these sectors for self-interest.
There is growing evidence to suggest that a number of state owned entities (SOEs) have been captured by the Guptas, with the family allegedly influencing not only ministerial appointments, but also appointments within SOEs themselves.
In light of the mounting allegations of influence and interference by the Guptas, the Shadow Minister of Public Enterprises, Natasha Mazzone, has requested that the Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises summon the Gupta’s according the rules of Parliament so that a process of enquiry can begin into the capture of SOEs by the Guptas.
Media reports indicated that former Chairperson of Eskom, Zola Tsotsi’s, forced resignation was allegedly orchestrated by the Guptas as a result of him “not playing the game.” This was after Tsotsi informed the Guptas that he could not grant them exclusivity over certain Eskom contracts.
The allegations by Tsotsi follow a number of similar accusations that have come to light for example:
The claim by former Minister of Public Enterprises, Barbara Hogan, that she was placed under immense pressure to meet with Gupta-linked Indian airline Jet Airways, the airline responsible for landing the Gupta’s wedding guests at Waterkloof air force base in Pretoria.
Hogan was replaced by Malusi Gigaba, who is known to have attended the Gupta wedding in 2013 and my colleague Hanif Hoosen has also revealed very worrying trends with Minister Gigaba and the Gupta’s in Home Affairs.
Hogan’s claim was in support of the allegations by former senior ANC MP, Vytjie Mentor, that she had been offered the position of Minister of Public Enterprises on the condition that she drop the SAA route to India and give it to Jet Airways instead.
The allegations by former SAA Chairperson, Vuyisile Kona, that he was offered R500,000 by the Gupta family in 2012 to secure his co-operation with them. Eskom CEO, Brian Molefe, is also linked the Gupta family and has admitted to visiting them at Saxonwold. Gupta-owned Tegeta Exploration, recently secured lucrative contracts to supply coal to Eskom power stations.
These allegations necessitate an urgent investigation into the Guptas’ links to SOEs by the portfolio committee.
The committee must:
Immediately summon the Guptas to appear before it to answer to these allegations as per my letter to the Committee Chairperson in this regard.
Call former Ministers of Public Enterprises, Barbara Hogan and Malusi Gigaba, to provide full details of their relationship with the Gupta family. Gigaba in particular must account for allegations of preferential treatment of the Guptas for state contracts during his tenure.
Summon the CEOs and Chairpersons of the largest SOEs to appear before it to answer questions about their ties to the Guptas.
We cannot afford to have a private family enriching themselves from lucrative state contracts, while these entities are costing the public billions.
The ANC must take a stand against the Guptas and President Zuma to ensure that corruption on the highest level is eradicated in the interest of building an inclusive economy that benefits all South Africans – not just the connected few.
It is imperative to uncover what the full extent of the Gupta family’s influence over state-owned companies truly is. This is with a view to fully restoring the credibility and efficacy of our nation’s entities. Parliament is duty-bound to hold government accountable, as well as ensuring another cabal of ANC cronies with links to President Zuma and the Gupta family do not seize our economy.
Whilst the DA welcomes President Zuma’s recent utterances to implement the recommendations of the Presidential Review Commission (PRC) on the privatisation of State-owned Enterprises (SOE), we cannot allow any more delays in its implementation, especially when considering that it has been 3 years since the PRC report has been released. If President Zuma is serious about the privatization of SOE’s, he must announce a deadline for this process to be completed, otherwise this is another stalling tactic to subvert any real change. To this end the DA urges President Zuma to ensure that the privatisation of SOE’s is systematically implemented without delay, beginning with SOE’s that are financially malfeasant and guzzle billions of rands every year.
Denel has gone from the “wunderkind” of public enterprises to the delinquent child. The non-adherence to the law that Denel is reported to be showing is both unacceptable and demonstrates a complete disregard for process, regulation and good governance. The situation has become so untenable that the portfolio committee of Public Enterprises has summonsed Denel to appear and explain the now infamous VR Laser deal on the 4th of May 2016.
This deal has allegedly not been approved by Minister Brown or the Minister of Finance, Pravin Gordhan, as is required by the PFMA, with the application still being reviewed and processed. The Gupta involvement was not mentioned at the announcement and the venture was concluded in the absence of Denel’s permanent Chief Executive, Chief Financial Officer and company secretary, all three of whom are on suspension. There is a strong suspicion that they were removed to clear the path for this deal. The Denel board appear to have acted outside their authority by announcing this deal prior to approval. Denel has been generating a profit over the last few years and should be stable and efficient enough to proceed with this venture without the help of short-term profit seekers.
The announcement by the African Development Bank (AfDB) of a settlement being reached with Hitachi over allegations of corruption in the awarding of the Medupi contracts by Eskom is further evidence of large-scale corruption in the tender process, no doubt involving the ANC and its investment wing, Chancellor House.
While the AfDB did not provide details of the allegations, it found that Hitachi “engaged in sanctionable practices in order to be awarded the boiler works contract.”
This follows a similar agreement in September by Hitachi to pay $19 million to settle charges brought against it by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which alleged that Hitachi had paid what it called “success fees” to the ANC’s Chancellor House for its “exertion of influence” during the Eskom tender process.
The ANC’s Chancellor House allied with Hitachi in 2005 in a deal that saw the company purchase a 25% stake in Hitachi for only R1 million. Under the agreement, Chancellor House – and by extension the ANC – would share in the profits from contracts awarded to Hitachi.
Subsequent to concluding this deal, Hitachi was awarded a R38.5 billion contract by Eskom in 2007 to construct boilers at Medupi.
In conclusion chairperson, I have absolutely no doubt that Minister Brown or her ANC sweep is going to spin some story about me being negative or try and spin the obvious state capture being allowed by President Zuma and blindly followed by the ANC…I expect nothing less from a Minister who showed such disdain for the Constitution that she voted against impeaching President Zuma. Shame, shame and more shame on you Minister Brown.
The DA will not allow the ANC to prosper at the expense of ordinary South Africans. As long as the ANC continues to put itself first, our nation will come second.
