Gigaba denies 'defamatory' state capture claims

Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba has denied involvement in state capture. He was reacting to allegations in a report on state capture by the Public Affairs Research Institute (Pari) that he appointed people with Gupta-Zuma-aligned interests to the boards of state owned enterprises while he was Public Enterprises Minister, says a TimesLIVE report. The report is filled with inaccuracies and ‘continues the trend of defamation’‚ said Mayihlome Tshwete‚ Gigaba’s spokesperson. As reported in Legalbrief Today on Friday, Pari released a report‚ titled Betrayal of the Promise: How the Nation is Being Stolen‚ by several academics. The 72-page document details how the Gupta family‚ through various companies and friends‚ including President Jacob Zuma‚ gained beneficial access to profit from several multi-million-Rand contracts with state-owned companies‚ whether directly through shell companies and legitimate businesses or indirectly as brokers or middle-men – and how their actions can be likened to a ‘silent coup’. TimesLIVE notes the report contains a timeline of changes to the boards of state owned enterprises by Gigaba between 2010 and 2012‚ when he was Public Enterprises Minister‚ and alleges these appointments were part of the systemic reconfiguring of these boards to align certain interests.