Former ANC MP Vytjie Mentor’s allegation that the Gupta’s had offered her the position of public enterprises minister a few years ago, with conditions, proves that the politically connected family has captured the state, the DA said on Tuesday.

“There is growing evidence that the Guptas are complicit with President Jacob Zuma in capturing the apparatus of state for their personal gain,” said Democratic Alliance shadow minister of public enterprises Natasha Mazzone.

“Both the Guptas and the President must provide the South African people with the answers they deserve.”

Mazzone has requested that the Gupta family appear in Parliament to answer questions.

In a post on Facebook, Mentor, wrote on Monday night: “But they had previously asked me to become Minister of Public Enterprises when Barbara Hogan got the chop, provided that I would drop the SAA flight-route to India and give to them. I refused and so I was never made a Minister. The President was in another room when they offered me this in Saxonworld.”

She was responding to another post by DA member and former Congress of the People spokesperson Johann Abrie.

Abrie had posted a cartoon of the presidential seal with the face of one of the Gupta brothers.

His comment above the cartoon was: “The Minister of Finance did not confirm or deny the fact that the Gupta brothers approached his deputy, Mcebisi Jonas for the job as Finance Minister. For those of you able to read between the lines, this mean that deputy minister Jonas is the second person (after the Minister of Sport Fikile Mbalula) who were approached by the Guptas for a job as Minister instead of by President Zuma. It is now clear that Zuma abdicated his job of appointing Ministers to the Guptas.”

Mazzone said Abrie had alerted her and the DA in Parliament to Mentor’s comment.

She said the DA had verified that the Facebook account did belong to Mentor, who was currently on holiday in Thailand.

Mazzone said the Zuma and his “cronies” were benefiting from a patronage network that only benefited the connected few.

The Gupta family, which is said to have strong ties with President Jacob Zuma, his family and other ANC leaders, has been accused of offering top ministerial jobs.

At the weekend, reports emerged that they had offered the job of finance minister to deputy minister Mcebisi Jonas, two weeks before Nene was removed and replaced with Van Rooyen.

Jonas reportedly turned down the job.

There have also been reports that Sport Minister Fikile Mbalula heard he had been appointed a minister through the Guptas.

[Source: News]