DA lawyers ask State Capture commission to confirm 12 ANC witnesses

20th September 2018 By: African News Agency

DA lawyers ask State Capture commission to confirm 12 ANC witnesses

DA leader Mmusi Maimane
Photo by: Creamer Media

The main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) has asked the commission looking into "State capture" to confirm that senior officials from the ruling African National Congress (ANC) including President Cyril Ramaphosa and former President Jacob Zuma will be called to testify, its leader Mmusi Maimane said on Thursday.

"The DA’s complaints against all 12 of these ANC members are a matter of public record and need to be thoroughly investigated," Maimane said.

"Considering information in the public domain and testimony already heard before the Commission, their testimony is material in allowing the Commission to fulfil its mandate."

In addition to Ramaphosa and Zuma, the DA also wants to hear testimony from Gwede Mantashe, who is the mineral resources minister, as well as Jessie Duarte, Mosebenzi Zwane, Malusi Gigaba, Des van Rooyen, Lynne Brown, Tom Moyane, Arthur Fraser, David Mahlobo and David Mabuza.

Maimane said testimonies heard by the commission so far made it clear that the ANC "knew full well that State capture was underway and did absolutely nothing to stop it from happening".

"As recently as Tuesday, Mantashe and Duarte were implicated by the testimony given on behalf of Standard Bank at the hearing, while fellow ANC top 6 member and Deputy President David Mabuza is three years overdue coming clean about his 2015 trip to Moscow on a Gupta owned aircraft when premier of Mpumalanga," he said.

The controversial Gupta family has been accused of using its personal ties with Zuma to exert undue influence on the government and state-owned enterprises for financial gain.

The commission has requested that Zuma submit an affidavit, but it is not clear whether he will be called to testify in person.

"The Gupta’s siphoning of hundreds of millions (of rand) intended for farmers in the Estina Dairy Farm project has not yet led to any real accountability," Maimane said. 

"Former mineral resources minister Mosebenzi Zwane needs to attest to his involvement in this large-scale looting."

"The ANC must face the music for their leading role in state capture and its senior leadership must testify before the Commission," he added.