DA cautiously welcomes the appointment of new Denel interim Board

9 April 2018

The DA cautiously welcomes the appointment of a new interim Board at Denel by the Minister of Public Enterprises, Pravin Gordhan, subject to approval by Cabinet. The DA finds it unhelpful that Minister Gordhan has chosen to retain some individuals who served on the previous Board.

Denel’s previous board and management still needs to account before the Commission of Inquiry into state capture to be headed by Justice Raymond Zondo. South Africans need a full account of the circumstances that saw the Gupta brothers gain undue influence on some of the company’s high level business decisions.

Denel had fallen prey to gross mismanagement and a carefully orchestrated plan of ‘state capture’ that saw the state armaments company fail to pay its employees and suppliers, forcing government to shore it up with a R580 million guarantee.

The new interim board has to ensure that it extricates Denel from undue political influence, as an essential first step in restoring the company’s tattered corporate image.

The DA hopes the new interim board will be open, transparent and accountable to Parliament and the people of South Africa on whose behalf they execute their mandate.

Issued by Natasha Mazzone, DA Shadow Minister of Public Enterprises, 9 April 2018