Posts for February 2022
3 February 2022
Former Transnet GCEOs Brian Molefe and Siyabonga Gama, along with former GCFO Anoj Singh and one-time board chairperson Iqbal Sharma were found by the state capture commission to have been instrumental in the capture of the parastatal. This was in the period between 2011, when Molefe took office, and 2018, when Gama resigned, having succeeded Molefe in 2015 when the latter moved to Eskom.
Internal processes intentionally weakened to enable capture at Transnet
4 February 2022
The state capture commission has rejected the evidence of former president Jacob Zuma that he did not try to impose Siyabonga Gama as group CEO on the board of Transnet in 2009. Gama was at that point the CEO of Transnet Freight Rail (TFR), a subsidiary of Transnet, and seeking to be promoted to group CEO of the larger company.
Zuma lied about Gama, aided capture of Transnet
7 February 2022
The state capture commission has concluded that the Transnet board’s decision to reinstate Siyabonga Gama as CEO of its subsidiary Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) in early 2011 – after he had been dismissed for misconduct – was a pre-determined one, with a high probability that it was instructed by former president Jacob Zuma. The commission has also recommended that law enforcement agencies investigate whether or not Zuma and former public enterprises minister Malusi Gigaba unduly influenced the board in this respect.
Gama reinstatement was result of political meddling
8 February 2022
Gupta associate Salim Essa had far more influence in the procurement decisions of Transnet than the entity’s state capture-implicated former executives would like the public to believe. This is one of the findings of the state capture commission, which concluded in the second edition of its report that evidence against former GCEOs Brian Molefe and Siyabonga Gama, as well as former GCFO Anoj Singh, points to a close proximity to the Gupta enterprise, despite all their efforts in testimony to divorce themselves from it. In the background, peddling political power, were former president Jacob Zuma and his public enterprises minister between 2010 and 2014, Malusi Gigaba.
Transnet execs closer to Gupta network than they let on
9 February 2022
The state capture commission wants former Transnet executives who managed the parastatal in the period under its investigation to be probed further for corruption involving cash bribes it says they may have received in return for enabling capture by Gupta-linked companies.
Prima facie case for cash bribe claims against ex-Transnet bosses
11 February 2022
Acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo wants the appointment of boards of state-owned entities (SOEs) and their CEOs to be centralised within a body that is free of political influence and is not bound by decisions of the executive.
Zondo wants executive removed from SOE board appointments
11 February 2022
The state capture commission has found that the former board of Denel abused its power and failed in its fiduciary duty when they suspended three executives, including GCEO Riaz Saloojee, in September 2015, on unsubstantiated misconduct charges. Commission chairperson Acting Chief Justice (ACJ) Raymond Zondo has recommended that its members be investigated for their possible role in the advancement of the capture of Denel by Gupta-linked VR Laser, at the expense of the parastatal and the individuals suspended.
Denel: Mantsha board purged execs as part of Gupta capture agenda
14 February 2022
From criminal investigations into its large contracts, to disciplinary action against former role players in state capture and the introduction of a lifestyle audit policy across the board, Transnet is on the mend and trying to eradicate the effects of capture. But a lot still has to be done to shield it and other state owned entities (SOEs) from the possibilities of corruption in the future. It is on these sentiments that the state capture commission closes its second report, with recommendations for how SOEs can ensure protection from political interference.
Reform of SOE procurement, boards should exclude ministers, says Zondo
14 February 2022
The capture of Denel from 2014 was deliberate, and intended – just as in other parastatals – to enrich the Guptas. Former public enterprises minister Lynne Brown continued where her predecessor Malusi Gigaba left off in the state capture project,and Denel was no exception, the state capture commission has found. Brown appointed a board with pliable members, who would ensure that Gupta-linked VR Laser was favoured for lucrative contracts at Denel.
Denel woes caused by state capture
