SOEs are political battle turf – Brown

Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown has painted state-owned companies as a “battleground” for ANC factional battles‚ opposition parties and the media.

Brown‚ who has raised concerns about parliament’s inquiry into state capture‚ said she had appeared before the committee despite legal advice not to do so.

She said “cleaning up the SOCs was of secondary importance to using the trouble they’re in to achieve shortterm political and business objectives – regardless of the cost to the company or country”.

“And because there’s no time to wait for investigations by law enforcement agencies following due legal process – the word is that they have all been compromised‚ anyway – the information is constantly regurgitated as if repeating it often enough will prove that it is true.

Brown has been the subject of much negative testimony in the committee. Before her appearance former board chair Zola Tsotsi made claims that he had met Tony Gupta and Salim Essa at her home where they discussed board assignments.

Brown denied the claims saying: “I have never consulted with anyone on my executive functions. Not Tony Gupta or Salim Essa or anyone else. Why would I hand over my functions to anyone else?”

Brown, however, admitted that Eskom officials had on more than one occasion misled her‚ and manipulated her into lying to parliament for which she faces sanctions by the public protector and parliament’s ethics committee.

Meanwhile, parliament's inquiry into state capture will invite the Gupta brothers‚ Essa‚ Eric Wood‚ Duduzane Zuma and Dudu Myeni to appear before it.

Following weeks of evidence in which the Gupta brothers‚ Essa‚ Duduzane Zuma and Wood have regularly been named‚ ACDP MP Steve Swart proposed that they be subpoenaed to attend.

Inquiry chair Zukiswa Rantho said that if the invitations were not taken up‚ they would consider using parliament’s power to subpoena.