Former head of Free State Agriculture Department Peter Thabethe has confirmed that the Gupta-linked company, Estina, was not only the implementing agent and manager of the Vrede dairy farm project but it also monitored its own performance.
Thabethe is giving evidence about his role in the controversial project at the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture in Parktown, Johannesburg.
He was one of the eight people who was arrested in connection with the alleged theft of more than R250-million of public funds.
The project was promoted to benefit black emerging farmers.
Thabethe was responding to Commission Chair, Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo’s questioning the agreement.
“Estina shall monitor its own performance in the delivery of the project and shall implement appropriate monitoring and management procedures in respect of the project, why was Estina to be the one monitoring its own performance? What we intended here was to say to Estina you must have your own internal monitoring processes. Our responsibility was to monitor compliance so hence, we said to do the monitoring of the implementation of the project we’ll come to a monitor compliance.”
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