Knives out for Gigaba, Guptas
DG unable to satisfy committee
HOME Affairs portfolio committee chairman Lemias Mashile assured his colleagues that they would ensure that Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba gave evidence on the naturalisation of the Guptas.
“We will make sure that the Minister of Finance comes because there are those who say he must come,” Mashile said as he wrapped yesterday’s meeting.
Earlier they were briefed about the naturalisation by the director-general Mkuseli Apleni.
This came two weeks after the EFF made public documents showing Gigaba had used his discretion to grant citizenship although the family did not qualify at the time.
Neither Gigaba nor current Home Affairs Minister Hlengiwe Mkhize attended the meeting owing to a prior engagement.
Briefing the committee, Apleni said the Guptas had applied for naturalisation as a family of five.
The family members included Ajay Gupta, his wife, Shivani, his mother, Angoori, and his sons, Kamal Kant Singhala and Surya Kant Singhala.
Shivani and Angoori did not meet the requirements.
Apleni said that if one family member did not meet the requirements, the entire application was unsuccessful.
The family was notified that they could reapply in December this year.
But they appealed to the then home affairs minister, Gigaba, to waive the requirements owing to exceptional circumstances.
In their appeal, they cited their investments in the country, the employment of 7 000 staff and their investment of R25 million, among others.
“The minister decided to waive the requirements,” Apleni told the committee.
All the family members except Ajay renounced their Indian citizenship when they took up South African citizenship.
“It means that Mr Gupta never renounced his naturalisation.
“Mr Gupta has not been naturalised,” Apleni said.
Tabled names
He said the department was required to have tabled the names of the family granted citizenship to Parliament, but that never happened.
Apleni was adamant that the tabling of the names of naturalised persons was not a condition for granting the citizenship.
The DA’s John Steenhuisen questioned the reliance on Oak- bay Investments in reaching a decision on the family members when they were not all directors of the company.
“I suggest the reliance on Oakbay was incorrect. They were not part of Oakbay and not even directors.
“The assets should not have been taken into account,” he said in reference to Atul Gupta’s family.
He also said he could not hold Apleni to account. “That power lies with the minister and that is not delegated,” Steenhuisen said.
Cope’s Deirdre Carter said Apleni’s statement that the report on naturalised persons had not been tabled should be looked into. “We have a responsibility to have an oversight role. That omission of tabling is totally wrong,” Carter said.
The ANC’s Maesela Kekana said the failure to table the report should give the committee enough reason to hold Gigaba accountable. “We should not run away... We must take them head on until we get to the truth,” he said.
The EFF’s Hlengiwe Hlophe said the presentation by Apleni did not mean they were done with the issue of the naturalisation of the Guptas.