Door still open to controversial Denel Gupta deal
Cape Town – A joint venture with Denel which has attracted controversy because of its links to the influential Gupta family is not yet a done deal, the Department of Public Enterprises said on Tuesday.
“There are still other conditions to be met before final approval can be granted,” Colin Cruywagen, spokesperson for Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown, told Fin24.
The state-owned entity announced in January that it had launched a joint venture, Denel Asia, in Hong Kong. However, Brown’s office said the partnership was in contravention of the Public Finance Management Act.
Denel had failed to secure a Section 54 application which allows state-owned companies to launch partnerships and joint ventures.
But on Tuesday, the ministry left the door open for Denel to comply in its deal with VR Laser.