‘Gupta wielded Zuma’s name as a sword’

FORMER Eskom board chairperson Zola Tsotsi has told the Zondo Commission he agreed to meet Tony Gupta on three occasions because he feared reprisal from then-president Jacob Zuma.

Tsotsi took the stand at the inquiry yesterday and was questioned about three meetings he had with Tony Gupta in 2014.

The inquiry has been probing Eskom-related evidence this week.

At the time, he was the chairperson of Eskom’s board.

Tsotsi said the first meeting was at the Gupta residence in Saxonwold.

Gupta was interested in Tsotsi facilitating the family’s entry into a gas contract with Eskom in the Western Cape.

Tsotsi said he explained that he had no knowledge of such a contract but agreed to make enquiries.

At the second meeting, also in Saxonwold, Gupta asked Tsotsi if he could ensure that a “guy of his”, who was then employed at MTN, be appointed as the head of procurement at Eskom.

Tsotsi said he expressed his reservations but investigated whether such a role existed.

“I said they would have to ask people in procurement if there was a position. I thought he (Gupta) was looking for a form of support. I think he wanted me to pull strings for him. I established later that the person did go and work for Eskom, chair,” Tsotsi said.

At the third meeting, which was at the Gupta’s Sahara Computer offices in Midrand, Tstotsi said Gupta wanted him to intervene in an Eskom audit which found that Eskom’s sponsorship of The New Age newspaper was irregularly entered into.

Tsotsi said Gupta became visibly upset when he explained that he was unable to interfere on behalf of the family.

Inquiry chair Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo probed Tsotsi on why he felt it necessary to entertain meetings with Gupta and chose to go to the family’s house instead of holding the meetings somewhere else.

Tsotsi replied that it was well established that the Gupta family would ask everyone to meet at their residence.

Zondo also questioned Tsotsi on what he feared would happen if he did not meet the family.

Tsotsi said he feared being seen as an “enemy of uBaba”, as the Guptas would often invoke Zuma’s name if someone refused to assist the family.

“I heard of instances where people were supposedly threatened by them if they could not give them whatever assistance they needed, and they would report them to the president.

“I would have had the displeasure of the president if I did not agree. I would have been reprimanded by the president or told to assist them, which is what happened to colleagues in government,” Tsotsi said.

He had also told the inquiry how Zuma had called him in January 2015 and told him that an Eskom board meeting scheduled for the next day should not take place.

He said Zuma had not given him an explanation.

Justice Zondo said he could not think of any other reason why someone would seek postponement of a meeting besides the fact that he or she did not want certain matters discussed.