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Former South African President Jacob Zuma. (Photo: EPA-EFE / NIC BOTHMA / POOL) / Atul Gupta. (Photo: Gallo Images / Business Day / Robert Botha) / Ajay Gupta. (Photo: Gallo Images / Business Day / Martin Rhodes)
In what was perhaps the most ‘no, duh’ moment of this week’s evidence in the State Capture Investigation, former Eskom chairman Zola Tsotsi shared his’ clear impression ‘that the Guptas had’ some kind participation in what was happening at Eskom ‘at the time of his departure in 2015.
Zola Tsotsi served as president of Eskom from 2011 to 2015. His departure came after the board filed charges against him. On Wednesday, he continued to testify in the Zondo Commission.
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Tsotsi said he was “puzzled” by Tegeta’s acquisition of Optimum Coal Holdings, agreed in late 2015 and concluded in 2016. Several witnesses have spoken about the controversial deal before Supreme Court Vice President Raymond Zondo, Chairman of the Commission Investigation of Allegations. of state capture, corruption and fraud.
82 minutes – that’s all Eskom needed to go from R659 million to the Guptas
How Daily maverick previously reported, Eskom’s finance team scrambled to arrange a hasty multi-million rand payment for Gupta-owned Tegeta Exploration & Resources to acquire Optimum from the power company. Tegeta counted Duduzane Zuma, son of then-president Jacob Zuma, as a shareholder through Mabengela Investments.
In testimony at the investigation last year, Snehal Nagar, an accountant for Eskom’s primary energy division, detailed the steps that were taken to pay R649 million in less than 90 minutes. Tsotsi credits the report on the acquisition (completed in April 2016) with flipping a switch: It revealed that the Guptas’ hand was reaching deep into the management of the energy company and its portfolio.
“I got the clear impression that there might be an orchestration of some exercise here to replace the top layer of the Eskom people with some people who are associated with the Guptas,” Tsotsi testified.
Zondo reflected on earlier evidence regarding Gupta’s alleged influence on Transnet and Eskom, presented during more than two years of state capture investigation hearings. She commented that then-Minister of Public Enterprises Lynne Brown seconded Transnet CEO Brian Molefe and CFO Anoj Singh to Eskom in 2015, following the suspension of several Eskom board members.
“It may well be that the Guptas were responsible,” Zondo mused.
That was probably the second “no, duh” moment of the week. From the current testimonies and reports to Zondo (including the parliamentary investigations into the state-owned companies), it seems clear that the Guptas captured Transnet and refined their modus operandi at Eskom. There is no version or evidence to the contrary of the Guptas against Zondo.
However, the president’s position is conservative. “There is that possibility and when all the evidence is there, it is one of the things I have to look at and see if there is adequate evidence to make that finding,” Zondo said.
Hungry for assets
Tsotsi’s view is that the Guptas ensured that their allies became Eskom’s decision makers to facilitate the capture of the company.
“Knowing the appetite of the Guptas for acquiring whatever asset they can get their hands on and seeing that at Eskom, I came to the conclusion that they wanted to have people in the organization who would serve their direct interests,” he said.
Tsotsi described her difficulties in establishing a great working relationship with Brown. He decided: “There is something that is driving her.” She said she attended a meeting at Brown’s home in Pretoria that was attended by a brother Gupta and one of the family leaders. Brown denies the meeting took place.
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“It wasn’t until the minister called me to this meeting, where I saw Tony Gupta and Salim Essa, that I said to myself, ‘Well, clearly the minister is operating under … if you wish … under persuasion. of these people. ‘ That was the opinion I held, and later things that happened confirmed that opinion for me. ”
Zondo asked Tsotsi if, at the time, she knew that Essa was associated with the Guptas. “Tony Gupta introduced it to me, so I knew it from the get-go,” Tsotsi replied. Elsewhere, Tsotsi has testified that Gupta’s younger brother showed him the transcripts of the Eskom board meeting while he was at the family residence in Saxonwold.
The minister strikes back
Tsotsi claims that Essa sent him a list indicating which Eskom board members should be appointed to which subcommittees. When Essa’s bid for these appointments fell through, Tsotsi said, Brown wrote to him with instructions to appoint the same people to the same positions.
“I cannot comment on a list that was allegedly sent by Mr. Essa to Mr. Tsotsi, as I have never seen it,” Brown wrote. She questioned the mention of Tsotsi from her own list and challenged him to submit it.
“It is inexplicable to me that in the execution of the board’s task of appointing members of [the] board committee, Mr. Tsotsi would not generate his own list but would rather work from a list supposedly compiled by a stranger at Eskom, ”Brown wrote.
Regarding the meeting that Tsotsi said was held at his home, Brown wrote: “I insist on denying that a Mr. Gupta and a Mr. Salim Essa, either together or individually, have visited my official residence in Pretoria. I explained the process that guided me in the appointment of members of the risk and audit committee and the social ethics committee ”.
Additionally, Brown wrote of his surprise at Tsotsi’s conduct, which he considered different from that of a conscientious president: Tsotsi did not complain about Essa to Brown or the Eskom board and “never voluntarily offered this supposedly important information to the former protector public when she was conducting her research on Eskom. ”
“Well, I really can’t say much, President, except to say that I think the truth will come out one day,” Tsotsi replied.
Zondo asked Tsotsi, “Why did you let him [Brown] be involved in that to the extent that she was, that you were going to implement her list when you had your own list, what did you think was the correct list? ”
Tsotsi replied: “It was clear to me that he seemed to be fulfilling other interests, so I assumed he was acting at the behest of someone else and I certainly assumed that at the end of the day he is imposing the list on the board, and I didn’t want to resist that in that moment.
“I just felt that maybe this is not a good thing because it is important to maintain relationships with the shareholder for the smooth running of the business.”
Protecting our leaders
During the hearing, recordings of Eskom’s board meetings were broadcast to the public, possibly for the first time. In one clip, then-board member Chwayita Mabude warns her peers that mention of then-president Jacob Zuma in relation to Eskom should not leave the boardroom.
In the recording, Mabude said: “We know about the attack against the government through our president and for him, so that we open an attack to him at our level, which will result in him being attacked more than he is being attacked now. We need to own the process. It could have been cloudy. The minister could have given us guidance, but she cannot take ownership of this process. We need to own it. ”
Tsotsi explained: “There was some reluctance on the part of one or two of the board members to mention the name of the president. They were very uncomfortable when I specifically spoke to them about the fact that I had been summoned to the president’s residence and had a meeting with him. There was a certain level of discomfort about it. ”
Leading evidence advocate Pule Seleka SC later commented: “A conscious decision is being made to take ownership of this process. It may have originated abroad, but they are deciding, let’s own it to protect our leaders. Right? Is it a fair evaluation? ”
Tsotsi replied, “That is a fair assessment, yes.”
Towards the end of the day’s proceedings, Zondo noted earlier evidence about Transnet, Eskom, and meetings at the Guptas’ property in Saxonwold. She pointed to an apparent pattern to the allegations from witnesses, including Mcebisi Jonas, Themba Maseko, Mxolisi Dukwana and now Tsotsi.
It has been alleged that different Gupta brothers at different times held courts with key decision-makers in government. In some cases, witnesses allege that members of the Gupta family offered them bribes in exchange for preferential treatment in state affairs. Jonas and Dukwana are among those who claim that Zuma’s son was at the scene when they claim they were courted by the Guptas. In his appearance last year, young Zuma insisted he was not the face of corruption that some perceive him to be.
The focus on Eskom continues as proceedings resume at 10 a.m. Thursday. Former board member Venete Klein and former chief legal and compliance officer Suzanne Daniels are ready to testify. DM
