‘Gupta associate’ Mosebenzi Zwane fined 5 days’ pay, barred from debate in Parliament

The National Assembly has approved the punishment of ‘Gupta associate’, ANC MP and former mineral resources minister Mosebenzi Zwane, finding him guilty of a number of state capture-related charges.

The National Assembly adopted a report of the Joint Committee on Ethics and Members’ Interests on Tuesday.

Charges

Several charges were laid against Zwane by Democratic Alliance (DA) MP James Lorimer and the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa).

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The committee’s report dealt with Zwane’s alleged contravention of the code of ethical conduct and disclosure of members’ interests during his tenure as mineral resources minister.

Recommendations

It recommended to the National Assembly various penalties against Zwane for the various transgressions and that he be fined the amount of five days’ salary.

This was for the breach that Zwane received benefits and hospitality that were not disclosed in respect of the travel on a private jet from Zurich to Dubai on December 2, 2015, in the company of Tony Gupta and Salim Essa which was paid for by the Guptas; being chauffeur-driven in Dubai at the expense of the Guptas (via Sahara Computer); and a two-day stay in Delhi, India, funded by the Guptas.

Apology

The committee also ordered that Zwane apologise to the House.

“The member must enter an apology in the House for the press statement he issued, which had to be retracted by Cabinet, enter an apology in the House for appointing special advisors who were business associates of the Guptas.

“That the member be suspended from his seat in parliamentary debates for one Parliamentary term,” it said.

Gupta influence

In March, the committee found Zwane’s appointment as minister of mineral resources was orchestrated by the Guptas. They did this to secure the purchase of the Optimum coal mine by their company Tegeta.

He was also accused of misleading Parliament when asked about his interactions with the Guptas.

Complaints

Other complaints against Zwane included that he appointed Gupta associates K Moodley as his special advisor and Malcom Mabaso as his personal advisor, which led to alleged conflicts of interest.

Moodley’s company Albatime (Pty) Ltd made a R10 million payment to Tegeta towards the purchase of the Optimum Coal Mine.

Moodley’s wife also served on the Eskom board as a non-executive director from 2014 to 2016. Mabasa is a business associate of Salim Essa and also a director of Premium Security Cleaning (Pty) Ltd.

Additional reporting by Gareth Cotterell

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