MINISTER ZWANE QUESTIONED ABOUT GUPTAS AND STATE CAPTURE
Parliament, Thursday, 19 October 2017 – The Minister of Mineral Resources, Mr Mosebenzi Zwane, today appeared before the Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources to answer questions related to allegations of state capture.
Minister Zwane told the Committee that his relationship with the Gupta family “is at a professional level” and that he has “not benefited anything from that relationship”.
“If there is a need to meet them (Guptas) tomorrow, I will meet them anywhere anytime, I continue to meet with people who have insulted me in the media, these people (Guptas) have not insulted me,” he said.
In justifying his relationship with the family, the Minister also disputed reports of any undue influence from the wealthy Gupta family, saying he will never favour one businessperson over the other. “I am always objective; my work is to engage with everybody equally.”
Responding to questions about his travels to India, Switzerland and Dubai, the Minister said all the trips were work related, but said details of these trips were a subject of court proceedings and asked the Committee to let the legal process unfold.