Suspended Head of Legal Services and Governance at Eskom Suzanne Daniels has confirmed that she met the Gupta family through their associate, Salim Essa.
Daniels was testifying in Parliament before the Public Enterprises Committee Inquiry into State Capture and poor governance.
Daniels has been grilled for, among other things, coal contracts that the power utility entered into and pension pay out to ousted Chief Executive Officer Brian Molefe.
Daniels says she wrote a report and gave it to Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown on these contracts, but Brown discredited the report.
She says she believes that Brown was aware of what was happening at the power utility, but she shelved it off to the officials.
“There’s only one way to describe this to the people of South Africa; this was brazen theft. The people implicated and who I identify as thieves is Matshela Koko, Arnold Singh, Mabalane and Kalima,”
Daniels also says that the disciplinary action against another suspended executive Matshela Koko is a shame. She says the charge sheet has been changed twice which is fatally flawed.
She has also said that there is board interference.
She says the Gupta family wanted information about the labour court case involving ousted Eskom CEO Brian Molefe.
Daniels says they wanted the case to be heard by the end of December.
“There were four people I was introduced to – Mr AJ Guota, Mr Duduzane Zuma, Ben Martins and a Chinese lady; I cannot remember her name because I was speechless. The purpose of the discussion was around Molefe’s court proceedings. I was afraid thinking what if they kill me.”
Daniels also faced tough questions from MPs directed at her personally. She was questioned about her role in the suspension of other executives as head of legal services.
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Member of Parliament Thembinkosi Rawula felt that Daniels should have opted to be a whistleblower instead of waiting to be suspended.
“What role have you played because you were helping the board make decisions. Why didn’t you become a whistleblower,” Rawula asked.
Eskom on New Age deal
Another former Finance Director Tsholofelo Molefe told the committee how former interim CEO Collin Matjila put pressure of her to flaunt procurement processes and rules.
Molefe says she refused to sign the New Age deal as well as Regiments contract. She says that’s the reasons she was suspended.
“I sent him an email and I copied the Head of Legal then Mr Neo Tsolanku and I suggested that Mr Tsolanku gives us an opinion. He then called me and reprimanded me for putting such messages on email. He felt he was not being supported.”
The inquiry continues.
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