On Tuesday, DCJ Raymond Zondo and his State Capture Inquiry crew will resume their work with testimony expected from Mosebenzi Zwane.
Who is Mosebenzi Zwane?
Zwane is a well-renowned and widely respected figure of the ANC with great influence over branches in the Free State. This level of popularity, he shares with Secretary-General Ace Magashule.
Much of his involvement in the Free State legislature, as MEC of Agriculture and Rural Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, will be crucial in piecing together the events that took place with the infamous Estina dairy project.
Zwane was also enlisted by former president Jacob Zuma as Minister of Mineral Resources between 2015 and 2018, a controversial appointment that will also form part of state capture testimony.
Watch live: Zwane delivers Eskom ‘shockers’ at State Capture Inquiry
The commission is expected to kick off Tuesday’s proceedings — after an eventful start to the week — at 10:00. You can tune into the live stream right here:
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Things Zondo will probe Zwane on
Zwane has a lot of answering to do on a number of ongoing cases against him. Here are some of the themes we expect Zondo to question the former minister on:
Eskom
Zwane was, in August 2020, hit with charges related to the looting of R3.8 billion at Eskom. The civil suit, filed by the power utility and the special investigating unit places Zwane as a central figure in the pillaging that was allegedly orchestrated by the Gupta family.
Remember, Thuli Madonsela, in her famous report that birthed the state capture inquiry, had questioned Zwane’s involvement in Gupta-owned Tegeta’s acquisition of Optimum Coal Mine in 2015. in the report, Madonsela wrote:
“If Minister Zwane travelled in his official capacity to support Tegeta’s bid to buy the mine his conduct would give Tegeta an unfair advantage over other interested buyers. Further, it is potentially unlawful for the Minister to use his official position of authority to unfairly and unduly influence a contract for a friend or in this instance his boss’s son at the expense of the State.”
Estina dairy project
Zwane is also a central figure in the disappearance of more than R2 billion that was earmarked for a massive agricultural project that would have empowered a community of Estina farmers.
It is alleged that the former Free State agriculture MEC received gifts to the tune of R500 000 from the Gupta family, a month after he had signed the 99-year Estina lease.