All eyes on Parliament ahead of state-capture probe

Parliament will be the centre of attention on Tuesday as the portfolio committee on public enterprises begins its inquiry into the capture of major stateowned companies including Eskom‚ Transnet and Denel.

Up to 40 witnesses are expected to be called to testify as MPs attempt to get to the bottom of the alleged corruption involving the Guptas, parastatals, some members of the Cabinet and President Jacob Zuma’s son Duduzane Zuma, who has denied any wrongdoing.

The inquiry will look into state capture and the abuse of public resources.

Its terms of reference include the reappointment of Brian Molefe as group CEO of Eskom, the power utility’s role in the purchase of Optimum Coal Holdings by the then Gupta-owned Tegeta Exploration and Resources, the awarding of R11.7bn worth of coal supply contracts at inflated prices to Tegeta, the R43m contract with the Guptas’ The New Age media firm, payments of more than R400m to Trillian Capital Partners for consulting and advisory services and allegations of impropriety against former acting CEO Matshela Koko.

Witnesses initially identified include the three Gupta brothers, Molefe, Koko, Eskom chief financial officer Anoj Singh and Duduzane Zuma. Opposition MPs have said the president should be called to testify.

The names of whistleblowers called to give testimony will not be publicised before they appear and, in some instances, witnesses will give evidence in camera.

Political analyst Shadrack Gutto said the fact that there could be up to three processes looking into the state-capture allegations at the same time created confusion. It would have been more sensible to first allow Parliament to complete its inquiry and then whatever evidence gathered by the MPs is handed over to law enforcement to complete the process.