Ben martins
Martins: Guptas wanted Prasa tender despite not submitting proposal
Ben Martins said he was never under any pressure to award the Gupta family tenders during his short stint as Transport Minister.
Former Transport Minister Ben Martins was testifying at the state capture commission of inquiry about the controversial landing, in which guests for the Gupta family wedding touched down at the Waterkloof Air Force Base.
The Zondo commission of inquiry is set to resume this month and it will now also have evidence from Parliament’s Eskom inquiry report to probe further.
Public Enterprises Deputy Minister Ben Martins outlined in Parliament several of his engagements with the Gupta family, mostly during his time as Transport Minister.
Minister Martins has conceded at the Eskom inquiry that he called at least two meetings at which Tony Gupta and former Prasa chief executive Lucky Montana were present.
The Public Enterprises Deputy Minister says one meeting with Tony Gupta at his ministerial house was to discuss a tender that had already closed.
The deputy minister is testifying before the state capture inquiry in Parliament.
Deputy Minister of Public Enterprises Ben Martins appears before the Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises over allegations of state capture.
Committee chairperson, Zukiswa Rantho, says that inviting the Gupta brothers implicated in the matter was always part of the committee's plans.
Martins was subpoenaed by the Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises last month.
On receiving news that Deputy Public Enterprises Minister Ben Martins was not going to show up, MPs agreed to issue a subpoena to force him to answer their questions.
Deputy Public Enterprises Minister Ben Martins has been sharply criticised by parliamentarians for refusing to testify in their inquiry on state capture.
In a statement released days after he was named by a witness as having attended a meeting with one of the Gupta brothers, Deputy Public Enterprises Minister Ben Martins is hitting back.
Former Prasa CEO Montana took to Twitter to challenge deputy Minister Ben Martin's recollection of another meeting with one of the infamous Gupta brothers.
Daniels' jaw-dropping testimony offers some insight into the shenanigans at Eskom and the Gupta family’s alleged influence.
The power utility's suspended head of legal, Suzanne Daniels, alleges Ben Martins was present at a meeting with Ajay Gupta and Duduzane Zuma in Melrose Arch this year.
Eskom's suspended legal head Suzanne Daniels says she attended a meeting last year with Ajay Gupta, Duduzane Zuma and Deputy Public Enterprises Minister Ben Martins.
Daniels on Wednesday told Parliament's Public Enterprises portfolio committee that she met with Martins, President Jacob Zuma's son Duduzane and Gupta in July this year.
Eskom's suspended head of legal, Suzanne Daniels, told Parliament's Public Enterprises portfolio commitee that she attended a meeting with Martins, Ajay Gupta, Duduzane Zuma and businessman Salim Essa.