State Capture: DA reiterates call for urgent Ad Hoc Committee

Following media reports today of further Gupta capture of the ANC Government, the DA reiterates our call for National Assembly Speaker, Baleka Mbete, to swiftly act on our call for an Ad Hoc Committee to fully probe the relations of captured Ministers and officials, the President and the Gupta family.

We expect Parliament to schedule this Ad Hoc Committee during the coming week.

According to reports today, the Director General (DG) of the Department of Public Enterprises, Richard Seleke, allegedly leaked important information to the Guptas about deals with state owned entities and emailed his CV to President Jacob Zuma’s son, Duduzane Zuma, half a year before being hired as the DG.

Similarly, reports today reveal that a former Independent Non-Executive Director of Transnet, Iqbal Sharma, passed on the agenda of Transnet’s board acquisitions and disposals committee - confidential board committee documents - with the Guptas a week before a May 2014 meeting of the board that hiked the costs of a locomotives tender that was expected to earn the Guptas R5.3 billion.

These reports further expose the depth of the governance failures of public entities under Minister Lynne Brown, and allegations of Gupta capture against her. This only adds to scandals at Eskom, Transnet, SAA, Denel - all benefiting the Guptas, and all on Brown's watch.

Brown must urgently suspend Seleke pending the Ad Hoc Committee investigation. The DA is also investigating adding to the criminal charges laid on 30 May 2017, based on today's revelations.

We believe that captured and pliable public officials and executives of public entities must be urgently dealt with. For now, we demand the suspension of Seleke pending Parliament's investigation.

The DA is adamant that Parliament must launch an Ad Hoc Committee investigation into the Guptas' capture of Jacob Zuma, his Ministers and the ANC government, to get to the bottom of growing evidence that our country has been sold off in large chunks.

Statement issued by Natasha Mazzone MP, DA Shadow Minister of Public Enterprises, 4 June 2017