Former Director-General of the Department of Public Enterprises, Kgathatso Tlhakudi, says the mistakes that led to the irregularities in the now-collapsed Takatso/SAA deal were the result of one man’s ego, referring to Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan.
Gordhan on Wednesday announced that the sale of a 51% stake in SAA to the Takatso Consortium has been cancelled. This follows three years of Gordhan’s reported fight to keep details of the equity partner deal with Takatso confidential.
Tlhakudi says people must be held accountable.
“The process was literally hijacked to benefit particular businesspeople that were chosen by the Minister as strategic departments for SAA. Number 2, the value of SAA was deliberately brought down, informed by an evaluation done by the buyer instead of the seller, all other cover-ups and shenanigans and character assassinations need to be properly investigated and people must be held to account, and if it is done properly, Minister Gordhan will be found wanting, some of my colleagues in the department, the acting DG Modisane signed the share sale and purchase agreement which was flawed.”
