Estina had R16 before the R30 million deposit – Zondo Commission hears

The Commission of Inquiry into State Capture in Parktown, Johannesburg has heard how Estina Dairy Farm had R16 in its account the day before the R30-million was deposited.

Evidence leader Advocate Leah Gcabashe was going through the bank statement of Estina project a day before the pre-payment was deposited into its accounts, questioning whether due diligence was done.

Last month, the former official at Free State Treasury, Anna Fourie, testified about being pressured to pay an advance payment of R30-million to Estina.

Former Department of Agriculture, Free State – Head Of Department, Peter Thabethe conceded that due diligence was not done.

Listen to audio below:

A visibly outraged commission chairperson, Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, challenged what he described as Thabethe’s lack of responsibility.

“You are expecting Estina to pay more than R200 million, but you don’t even know if they’ve a cent in their account and what is being said is look at their bank statement as at that time, one was how much Ms Gcabashe…the day before the 30 million went in there was R16, how can you expect that entity to give you R228 million? Where will they get it from? You are the head of the department, you have certain responsibilities, you are an accounting officer, you must look after the taxpayer’s money, you must look after the budget of the department, how can you do that?”

Watch State Capture proceedings, Tuesday 20 August 2019: