Suzanne Daniels Stands By Her Gupta Meeting Testimony After Deputy Minister’s Denial
Following Public Enterprises Deputy Minister Ben Martins rebuttal of a testimony by Eskom’s suspended company Secretary and legal services head Suzanne Daniels that he attended a tea party that was also attended by, among others, members of the Gupta family… Daniels has said she stands by her testimony. Deputy Minister Martins briefed the media at […]
Following Public Enterprises Deputy Minister Ben Martins rebuttal of a testimony by Eskom’s suspended company Secretary and legal services head Suzanne Daniels that he attended a tea party that was also attended by, among others, members of the Gupta family… Daniels has said she stands by her testimony.
Deputy Minister Martins briefed the media at the Imbizo Centre in Parliament on Thursday, claiming to be “perplexed by Ms Suzanne Daniels’ testimony to the parliamentary inquiry into Eskom.
“She falsely claimed that I had attended a tea party in Johannesburg with her, Mr Ajay Gupta, Mr Salim Essa and Mr Duduzane Zuma,” Deputy Minister Martins said.
“The truth is that I met Ms Daniels several times in her capacity as Eskom Company Secretary, together with the then Chairperson of Eskom Dr Ben Ngubane, Department of Public Enterprises Director-General Richard Seleke and Minister Lynne Brown in Cape Town and Tshwane to discuss the Brian Molefe matter.
“I admit to admonishing Ms Daniels for the governance lapses that had taken place under her watch as the Company Secretary and Legal Advisor at Eskom, during the meetings we had with the Minister of Public Enterprises and Dr Ngubane. My collegial constructive criticism was never meant as a personal attack,” he said.
The Deputy Minister’s response comes after Daniels gave a testimony at a Public Enterprises Portfolio Committee’s inquiry into Eskom.
Daniels says she stands by her testimony, which included the revelation that Ajay Gupta had told her he would influence the timing of the Brian Molefe case.
She tweeted on Thursday: “By virtue of being a lawyer, I am an officer of the court and to top it up, I also took an oath in parliament ahead of proffering my evidence. I therefore would not have lied to parliament and risk various applicable consequences. I stand by my testimony.”
Daniels trended on Twitter yesterday as she exposed further corruption (watch below). Many took to social media to commend her bravery, with freelance journalist Laurie Claase summing up the feelings of many when she tweeted: “Suspended legal head of Eskom, Suzanne Daniels, is performing #CountryDuty on steroids. We owe her – and others – an incalculable debt of gratitude. To repay her & the other whistleblowers we all need to speak up against evil in all its forms wherever we may find it #NotInOurName.”
When asked yesterday why she was revealing these incidents, Daniels said: “I am fighting my suspension. I would like to go back to work. I would like to be part of the clean-up of Eskom. I have documentary evidence to back up what I’m saying here.”
The Deputy Minister did not respond to the allegations yesterday. Today he said, whilst briefing journalists, that he would have responded to the testimony yesterday, but that he could not do so as he heard about it late on Wednesday in between his other official commitments.
“As the head of Eskom’s legal department, Ms Daniels should account to Parliament for what happened under her watch rather than seek to use the occasion to reinvent herself as clueless ignoramus,” he said.
Sources: SAnews.gov.za, SABC, Twitter/Suzanne Daniels
Ben Martins says Suzanne Daniels is “a liar.” But he hasn’t yet checked his diary to see where he was on that day of alleged tea party. #Eskom
— Annika Larsen (@AnnikaLarsen1) November 9, 2017
https://twitter.com/LittleMsMercy/status/928546949866848256