Parastatals sponsored Treasury foe Manyi

Two state-owned enterprises provided a lobby group headed by an arch-opponent of the Treasury with sponsorships of R840,000 for a conference and gala dinner.

The Progressive Professionals Forum (PPF) headed by Mzwanele Manyi, who has led the fight against the Financial Intelligence Centre Amendment Bill and has been strongly critical of the “unilateral” action by banks in closing accounts of the Gupta family, was the beneficiary of the parastatals’ largesse.

Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown disclosed in a written reply to a parliamentary question on Tuesday by DA finance spokesman David Maynier that Eskom and Transnet had provided sponsorships of R440,000 and R400,000, respectively, to the forum.

The Eskom sponsorship was for the forum’s summit and gala dinners in November 2015 and 2016, while the Transnet sponsorship was also for a conference and gala dinner, but the year is not specified. Eskom

insisted that its decision to sponsor the PPF was “strictly considered against our sponsorship policy to ensure alignment with the objectives of the business”.

It paid R40,000 for two corporate tables at the 2015 summit and gala dinner and R400,000 as a “platinum sponsorship” for the event in 2016.

Transnet was also a platinum sponsor for a PPF conference. Its R400,000 sponsorship covered branding, two seats at the main table, the opportunity for a senior Transnet executive to deliver an address, four tables at the dinner, an exhibition stand and tickets for eight delegates.

Maynier said what the minister’s reply revealed was that “Brian Molefe, who headed up Eskom at the time of the ‘sponsorships’, was effectively funding an organisation which was waging a ‘dirty war’ on the minister of finance, Pravin Gordhan, and the Treasury, as they probed suspicious contracts entered into by Eskom.”

The utility’s spokesman, Khulu Phasiwe disagreed strongly that the company had indirectly sponsored a battle against the Treasury.

“The fact is that Manyi and the Progressive Professionals Forum should not have received one cent in ‘sponsorships’ from any state-owned enterprise in SA,” Maynier said.

“I will, therefore, request the auditor-general Kimi Makwetu to investigate the ‘sponsorships’ by state-owned enterprises, including Eskom and Transnet [to the forum].”