EFF Writes to Mkhwebane to Probe Gordhan Over Gupta Meetings

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has written to Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane to investigate whether Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan violated the executive members' ethics code by lying to Parliament about his meetings with the Gupta family.

In a leaked sworn statement ahead of his testimony at the state capture commission next week, the Public Enterprises minister confirms meeting some of the members of the Gupta family at government and public events.

But it’s his meeting with an Indian businessman, which he confirms was arranged by one of the Gupta brothers, that has raised eyebrows.

In his affidavit, Gordhan details how at the insistence of Tony Gupta, he attended a meeting with an Indian businessman in 2010 who wanted to buy a stake in MTN.

But he says he doesn’t remember a Gupta brother being part of that meeting even though his former chief of staff and current Treasury Director-General Dondo Mogajane advised him that Ajay Gupta was present at the meeting.

The minister admits that when he replied to a Democratic Alliance parliamentary question he didn’t disclose this meeting, which he says may or may not have been attended by a Gupta brother because “at the time of submitting the reply I had no recollection of the meeting”.

The EFF is not buying into this. It says it’s absolutely impossible that Gordhan was not aware that he held a meeting with Ajay Gupta, saying “his claim of amnesia now, is opportunistic and misleading”.

The party wants the minister to be investigated for lying to Parliament.