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Lynne Brown says she was unaware that her then-secretary, Kim Davids, was interacting extensively with an email address linked to Salim Essa. Photo G: allo Images / Sowetan / Thulani Mbele)
- Former Public Business Minister Lynne Brown told the state’s capture investigation that the Fforensic services report by undudzi mMake a lot of unfounded assumptions.
- He said he wanted to bring the report up for review at some point.
- He also said that he did not know his secretary at the time, Kim Davids, received numerous emails and CVs from an email address linked to Gupta associate Salim Essa.
Former Public Business Minister Lynne Brown dismissed many of the findings in the Fundudzi Forensic Services report that relate to her and her former secretary, saying they were based on too many assumptions.
She said that, at one stage, she was even tempted to take the report for review.
Brown, who testified in the state seizure investigation on Monday, was questioned about the damning findings in the report that analyzed the “seizure” of public entities as a result of dysfunctional government structures and procurement irregularities.
The report, which was released in November 2018, found that, among other things, Brown’s former private secretary Kim Davids had extensive interactions with people via an email address linked to Gupta associate Salim Essa.
The email address was used to send the CVs of the members of the board of directors of the possible state entities, such as Giovanni Leonardi, linked to Gupta, and the general director (DG) of public companies, Richard Seleke.
It also found that Eskom executives, including Matshela Koko, may have used the same email address to leak confidential company information to Essa.
“The Fundudzi report is an interesting report. It makes a wide range of assumptions without really giving any factual information about it,” he said.
Among other things, Brown said the report was compiled assuming she checked Davids’ emails every day to see who she contacted, which was not the case. She said that when she saw the report in committee, a part of her wanted to review it.
“Yes, of course I am surprised and dismayed by some things [in the report], if they are true. But the Fundudzi report goes further by saying that I gave someone a piece of land and sent someone’s CV to UWC (University of the Western Cape). They go further. Frankly, did I commit fraud, corruption? No. Did I give the Transnet land to someone? No, I didn’t, “Brown told the commission.
No investigation
Brown also denied knowledge of the Guptas’ influence on some of the appointments to the Eskom board and the public companies department during his tenure.
When the commission’s evidence leader, advocate Pule Seleka, pointed out that Leonard’s CV came from the email linked to Essa and that he was not subjected to any investigation as required by the department when he was appointed to the Eskom board, Brown said that she was not involved in the investigation process.
“Any emails received by Ms. Davids would have to go to the legal and government unit. Therefore, she would not send the emails to me. She would send them directly to the legal and government unit and the legal and government unit. government would check those emails, “he said.
Although Funduzi’s report contained emails showing Davids sent a list of proposed Eskom board members, including Leonardi, to Brown, the former minister said she did not recall a proposed list.
However, he remembered that Leonardi’s name came up. But Davids told him at the time that it was suggested by former Transnet board chair Linda Mabaso.
He also denied that board members were appointed without a background check, except for one occasion in 2018 when Eskom secured a new board as part of an intervention to try to stabilize then-Vice President Cyril Ramaphosa’s parastatal.
Brown, however, admitted that he met with Seleke before he was appointed or even applied for the job.
He said the meeting took place in Cape Town, but that it was not about Seleke becoming CEO.
The emails submitted to the commission showed that when the email linked to Essa sent Seleke’s CV to Davids, long after the first advertisement for the CEO position was closed, it also requested a meeting between him and “madam.” . Later, the department would re-announce the CEO position after Brown’s meeting with Seleke.
But Brown said he was unaware that he had been in contact with Davids or was linked to the email address.
Brown said that although he agreed to meet with Seleke, he did not remember the exact reason why he wanted the meeting.
However, it was a very short meeting and sometime towards the end, the point came up about his interest in the CEO position.
“It was not as simple as: ‘I would like to be the new CEO’ … But I do remember that I liked the idea that he was a development economist in the area of land and agriculture and that he managed large parastatal companies “Brown said.
