Zondo Commission needs to probe whether former Minister Brown lied to Parliament about Trillian contracts

18 June 2019

The DA welcomes the judgement handed down by the High Court in Pretoria which ordered Trillian Capital, a Gupta company, to payback R600 million of the R1,7 billion that it generated in ‘consultancy fees’ on Eskom contracts.

The court judgement is a victory against corruption and an indictment on former Minister of Public Enterprises, Lynn Brown, who has been exposed for misleading Parliament.

In a 2017 reply to a DA question, Brown denied the existence of the contracts or that any monies had been paid to Trillian by Eskom. Brown should now be called to appear before to the Zondo Commission to answer fully for this deliberate attempt to cover up this billion rand heist. She must also account for any knowledge of the Gupta-lead and ANC condoned widespread looting of the state-owned entity, that contributed to crippling Eskom and which has since brought our economy to the precipice as a result of rolling blackouts.

The former Minister has claimed that she has nothing to hide. She should, therefore, have no problem in presenting herself before the Zondo Commission to account for Eskom’s failure during her tenure as Minister.

This judgement sends a clear message to everyone who benefited from the Gupta criminal enterprise, that all public funds obtained through clandestine means will be recovered.

The DA has fought long and hard to ensure that the extent of state capture at Eskom was exposed and we will continue to fight to ensure that those responsible are held to account and that the people’s stolen money is recouped.

Issued by Natasha Mazzone, DA Shadow Minister of Public Enterprises, 18 June 2019