‘Gigaba ordered Guptas visas be fast-tracked’
Senior home affairs official spills beans
The instruction to fast-track the Guptas’ and their associates’ visas came from home affairs minister Malusi Gigaba’s office early in 2015‚ according to a senior departmental official.
Major Kobese‚ a former director in the department’s foreign office responsible for co-ordination and support‚ told stunned MPs at the ongoing parliamentary inquiry into the early naturalisation of Gupta family members that he received a call from Gigaba’s chief of staff early in 2015 asking him to assist Gupta associate Ashu Chawla.
The leaked Gupta e-mails showed that Chawla‚ the CEO of the Gupta-controlled Sahara Computers‚ used Kobese as his connection at the home affairs department to secure preferential treatment on the processing of visas for the Guptas and their associates in India.
There were also e-mails that Chawla wrote to Kobese demanding visas be issued on the same day. “Me knowing Mr Chawla didn’t just arise from the sky or drop from the sky‚” Kobese told MPs.
He said he received a call from a Thami Msomi‚ Gigaba’s chief of staff‚ who said: “There is this Mr Chawla who is the CEO of Sahara, and at Sahara they have got problems with visas in embassies and that they are taking longer for missions to finalise the visas, and that is going to impact on the movement of the business that we are inviting.”
Kobese said Msomi asked him to ensure he was able to assist when it became necessary to fast-track those applicants.
He said it was normal practice for people who were frustrated with visa delays to inquire at the minister’s office, noting that the office would then interact with the department to assist the client.
It was also common for staff in the minister’s office to speak directly to officials‚ instead of going through the director-general‚ who was the administrative head of the department‚ Kobese said.
He revealed there were no existing Gupta applications at the time he received the call‚ but it was for future reference.
“At the time I got a call‚ it’s not that there were applications that were stuck‚ it was to say‚ ‘there is this person who experiences problems’.
“This person is going to liaise with you. Can you ensure that in future, where there are problems‚ you are able to assist?”
He said Msomi had told him that Sahara was bringing lots of people to the country for business purposes‚ including the amount of the investment it was bringing to SA and the projects they were involved in.
Home affairs portfolio committee chairperson Hlomane Chauke noted Chawla’s influence seemed to come from “the highest office” in the department. “A chief of staff is someone who holds the fort for the minister; he gives‚ he defends and he advises in that space and now he is giving instruction that when these people come to you‚ you must perform.”
Gigaba had not spoken at the time of going to print.