[ad_1]
Illustrative image | Fonts: Denel logo | EPA / KIM LUDBROOK
Former Denel manager Celia Malahlela claims that the CEO of VR Laser admitted during a 2016 meeting that Gupta and Duduzane Zuma were sneaky shareholders. By then, VR Laser had three lucrative contracts with the state gun company. Malahlela tearfully testified that admission was, for her, the end of the line.
A week ago, Duduzane Zuma went on the Charm Offensive during an interview on the show. SA Trends in SABC 3.
Young Zuma smiled from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and promised that he would soon return to South Africa (which he did).
Although somewhat shy, the businessman and debatable “wonder boy” among supporters of former President Jacob Zuma, along with his own fans, hinted at his future ambitions.
“I think everyone should have a role in politics,” he said.
Just over a week later, the younger Zuma’s reported involvement in VR Laser increased in the State Capture Investigation.
In 2016, the CEO of VR Laser reportedly confirmed that Gupta and Duduzane Zuma had sneaky stakes in the business.
By then, VR Laser had three lucrative contracts with the government arms company Denel, including for armor and the production of helmets for military vehicles.
Celia Malahlela, Denel’s former supply chain manager, claimed that then-CEO of VR Laser Pieter van der Merwe revealed the company’s powerful shareholders during a meeting on Tuesday, April 19, 2016.
Former Denel’s group supply chain management executive Dennis Mlambo claimed that individual VR Laser shareholders were initially hidden from Denel.
Mlambo said that, at his insistence, Gupta partner Salim Essa’s majority stake in VR Laser was revealed in 2014, while a minor stake remained a mystery.
“I had to prod or shove Mr. [JP] Arora to reveal that the 74.9% stake in VR Laser was actually owned by Salim Essa, but the 25.1% was unable to get any comment on who owned it, ”Mlambo stated.
“And yet there was the constant reference that VR Laser was 25.1% owned by black women. Based on what? Because the evidence was not there, “he continued.
The allegations of state capture, corruption and fraud at the state arms company Denel are currently under scrutiny in the State Capture Investigation.
On Monday, October 26, 2020, evidence leader Paul Kennedy SC’s advocate announced that Denel’s witnesses were scheduled to testify until early November 2020.
The latest tilt, which follows incomplete evidence on Transnet, demonstrates a messy approach to workflows.
Denel was the subject of prior hearings during the first half of 2019.
Former CEO Riaz Saloojee claimed that Gupta’s partner Essa brought him to Gupta’s Saxonwold estate in 2012.
Saloojee claimed that a brother of Gupta tried to demonstrate his control over the then minister of public enterprises, Malusi Gigaba, who was the political director of Saloojee.
“What was more interesting was when he said they had the support of Number One, ‘the old man,’ with Zuma’s son sitting there.” Saloojee testified in March 2019.
Denel’s boss says Gigaba told him to ‘watch out for the Guptas’
In the last week of October 2020, President and Vice President of the Supreme Court Raymond Zondo heard from a former board member, who insisted that Saloojee’s suspension in 2016 was premature.
More claims emerge that Jacob Zuma’s fired attorney fueled Denel’s decline
At the time, Lugisani Daniel Mantsha was Denel’s chairman of the board.
Mantsha resigned from Denel following the appointment of Pravin Gordhan as Minister of Public Enterprises in February 2018.
Months later, Mantsha represented former President Jacob Zuma before Zondo during the first day of the investigation procedure in August 2018.
Zuma’s new attorney, Mantsha, was once removed from the list and later turned over to Denel to the Guptas; basically, it is ideal for work.
Toward the end of her testimony about Denel on Tuesday afternoon, Malahlela was on the verge of tears.
The day after his briefed meeting with VR Laser CEO Van der Merwe in April 2016, he reported his admission about the Guptas and Duduzane Zuma in an email to his superior.
Hearing excerpts of her e-mail read aloud brought Malahlela to tears, and Zondo asked for a short postponement.
The human cost of state capture is often lost when witnesses address legislative frameworks and hiring rules.
At select times, however, the inordinate pressures faced by individuals behind the scenes are manifested.
Malahlela wiped away tears and described her escape plan from Denel in 2016.
She told Judge Zondo that she saved funds before her departure, in light of the heat about the VR laser contracts and the scrutiny of the associated media.
Regarding the reported admission of Van der Merwe, she said: “Before it was rumors, seeing articles in the media and all that …”
“But for the first time I had heard it from someone who was right in front of me.”
Malahlela wrote to Stephan Burger: “At the rate at which this controversy is unfolding, I’m not sure this company will survive long enough for my kids to see it.
“We should be proud of what we have achieved. Equally, we must do whatever it takes to protect this great legacy. “
Kennedy commented: “These are very firm and strong words.”
Within moments, perhaps at the mention of her children, Malahlela was clearly upset and Zondo announced a short break.
Following Malahlela’s testimony, an outspoken Mlambo listed his concerns about Denel’s business with VR Laser two years earlier.
Mlambo made an astonishing claim about the documents VR Laser submitted while bidding for a contract with Denel in 2014.
“It was not a valid CIPC document,” Mlambo said.
“In my opinion, it was a fake document and the people who had filed the conflict of interest statements were not really the entire team of directors of VR Laser,” he said.
“It was VR Laser’s COO who introduced himself and, I think, Mr. Arora too. But the other people who were really critical, people like Salim Essa, had not submitted any declaration of interest. “
Mlambo reported that the 2014 contract bypassed his department by design, because it would have stopped the deal in its tracks.
He said: “I remember seeing 50 point points and something that has been awarded to the VR laser and I said to myself, ‘This is a real sham.
Zondo chuckled incredulously.
Mlambo added: “It just didn’t make sense and what even angered me, DLS leaders were willing to pay almost R100 million more than what LMT was trading.”
Mlambo insisted, based on VR Laser’s submissions, that there was no evidence that he won the 2014 contract with Denel fairly.
He is scheduled to continue his testimony on Wednesday, October 28, 2020. DM
