Guptas fleeing does not absolve Parliament of conducting an investigation
12 April 2016
I have today written a letter to the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises, Ms Letsatsi-Duba, explaining how her 6 April response refusing to investigate the Gupta’s illicit dealings with the state is consistent with National Assembly (NA) Rule 138(a). This Rule empowers a committee of Parliament to conduct its own investigations into matters of state and for evidence to be provided thereto.
Today’s revelations that state-owned company, Denel, are just the latest in a long list of Gupta dealings that this mounting evidence should move Parliament to investigate the extent of state capture under the Gupta’s.
This is added to the dodgy dealings the Guptas had in the supplying of coal to Eskom.
It is imperative to uncover the full extent of the Gupta family’s influence over state-owned companies truly is. This is with a view to fully restoring the credibility and efficacy of our nations entities. Parliament is duty-bound to hold government accountable as well as ensuring another cabal of ANC cronies with links to President Zuma and the Gupta family do not seize our economy.
So for Ms Letsatsi-Duba to assert anything to the contrary is inexplicable given there is ample grounds for this investigation- both in the NA Rules and the Constitution. One can only conclude that she has done this to shield the President and Gupta beneficiaries from due accountability in this regard.
In so doing she is clearly acting to protect the ANC and it’s already tainted reputation for allowing state-owned companies to be captured by the President’s friends. It is not surprising that after a 30 days delay and two ignored requests, we are still not unsure as to when the Gupta’s will appear before Parliament to provide closure on all their illicit dealings with the state.
With recent news reports revealing they have fled South Africa to Dubai, we must desist from thinking that state capture has ended and Parliament must hastily launch an enquiry into all the Gupta’s dealings.
Parliament has to satisfy itself that we know all the under-handed dealings of the Gupta’s to the extent where we can detail the entire monetary value of the dealings with the state. This will give South Africans informed knowledge of how much our economy has suffered and better place us to call for money to be repaid to Treasury.
The ANC in Parliament has consistently chosen to make itself complicit in the Guptas illicit dealings with the state. As such all South Africans have a chance to vote for a DA government in the upcoming Local Government Elections. A DA government that cuts corruption and creates jobs in the face of an ANC that puts the Guptas and President Zuma first to the detriment of South Africa.
Issued by Natasha Mazzone, DA Shadow Minister of Public Enterprises, 12 April 2016
