Share

Gordhan leads the charge against Denel on Gupta links

Cape Town – Former finance minister Pravin Gordhan led the charge against another state-owned entity when he grilled Denel on Wednesday, demanding an honest answer about the state arms manufacturer’s dealings with Gupta-linked VR Laser.

“South Africans are worried that there is a common pattern in the capture process [of state-owned entities],” Gordhan said.

“A new board comes in and excuses misconduct and suspends executives (three in this case). And then a particular number of deals continue. We’ve seen similar patterns here - persuade us you had no choice at all to enter into this deal.”

Gordhan, who was dismissed in a midnight Cabinet reshuffle on March 31, went back to being an ANC backbencher and was recently appointed as a member of Parliament’s oversight committee on public enterprises.

It was his second appearance on the committee, after laying into Eskom on Tuesday over its reappointment of CEO Brian Molefe.

READ: MPs give Denel chair Mantsha a drubbing

“Many things may look like business decisions on the surface,” Gordhan told Denel during question time, “but we need to find out what’s below the surface. You need to demonstrate you’re not serving the families mentioned by yourselves.”

Gordhan asked Denel board chairperson Daniel Mantsha to clarify whether a company called Dentons had done an investigation into Denel. (Dentons also completed a report on Eskom recently.)

“When was the Dentons report requested, and is it true that you as chairperson decided not to pursue the investigation?” Gordhan asked.

He then asked Denel to clarify the existence of a report by ENSAfrica stating that there were risks involved with the joint venture with VR Laser Asia.

Gordhan referred to an affidavit currently in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, which raises concerns about Denel’s proposed deal with “politically exposed persons”.

“In the affidavit it is alleged that VR Laser is in financial difficulty. Is this true?”

He also asked Mantsha to elaborate on his meeting with Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba, who had allegedly ordered him to cancel the joint venture and withdraw Denel’s court application against National Treasury.

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE UPDATE: Get Fin24's top morning business news and opinions in your inbox.

Read Fin24's top stories trending on Twitter:

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
19.00
-0.3%
Rand - Pound
24.14
-0.1%
Rand - Euro
20.65
-0.3%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.38
+0.3%
Rand - Yen
0.13
+0.5%
Platinum
905.16
-2.0%
Palladium
1,006.63
+0.1%
Gold
2,157.24
-0.2%
Silver
24.94
-0.4%
Brent Crude
86.89
+1.8%
Top 40
66,252
0.0%
All Share
72,431
0.0%
Resource 10
53,317
0.0%
Industrial 25
100,473
0.0%
Financial 15
16,622
0.0%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders