‘Brazen theft at Eskom’
Inquiry told Duduzane was at meeting, Dlamini Zuma also mentioned
THE GUPTAS discussed the case of Brian Molefe and how they were going to try to get someone from the deputy judge president’s office to hear the matter after December, suspended head of Eskom’s legal department Suzanne Daniels told MPs.
Daniels denied she was spilling the beans on Eskom because of her suspension.
She also said Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown must have known about some of the things going on at Eskom and could not have fobbed off the revelations to the officials.
Daniels said she gave her a report on some of the things.
She told the inquiry into state capture in Parliament yesterday how Salim Essa had invited her to a meeting in Melrose Arch in July, where Ajay Gupta, Deputy Minister of Public Enterprises Ben Martins and President Jacob Zuma’s son Duduzane were present.
At that meeting Ajay Gupta said he would organise someone in the office of the deputy judge president to hear the Molefe case against Eskom, after December.
She said she had pushed for the case to be heard earlier, and they got a date for this month.
“At the meeting of July 29, I instructed the legal team to get the date before December. As you know we got a date forNovember 29. In a way we put our foot down,” said Daniels.
She also said she was shocked by the presence of all those people at that meeting and the conduct of Ajay Gupta.
After the meeting she was shocked that the influence of the Guptas would reach such high levels.
“He was saying he will talk to someone in the deputy judge president’s office, because the hearing would have to be after December.
“He mentioned something about Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma and I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. There was some mumbling and I left,” said Daniels of Ajay Gupta.
Daniels also described the disciplinary hearing against the utility’s suspended former acting chief executive, Matshela Koko, as a “sham”.
She said Eskom had pushed for their preferred case presenters, despite her objections and recommendations of two senior counsels.
Daniels said she had objected to fired evidence leader Sebetja Matsaung, because of his lack of experience.
She also accused Eskom’s acting chairperson, Zethembe Khoza of interfering in the disciplinary case against Koko.
She said she was shocked by the charges against Koko, as he was supposed to be have been slapped with more charges.
“The risk of Koko being exonerated on those charges is quite high,” she added.
Daniels also said Eskom had been looted of billions of rand.
She said the things that have happened at the power utility could be described as “brazen theft”.
She said she has prepared a dossier for the evidence leader, advocate Ntuthuzelo Vanara, and the committee to look at the depth of the rot at Eskom.
Daniels said when she looks at the transactions there are many billions of rand that still need to be recovered.
She said she had received death threats and a break-in at her house was attempted.