Durban - Haniff Hoosen, DA Home Affairs spokesperson, is calling for an investigation into a visa scandal that allegedly involves the Guptas.
In Parliament on Friday, Hoosen claimed that despite Home Affairs appointing VFS Global to handle South African visa applications, a receipt he received this week showed money was being paid to a company called Islandsite Investments, whose directors include Duduzane Zuma and Rajesh Gupta.
Hoosen told the Sunday Tribune on Saturday there was a definite link to the Guptas when it came to South African visa operations.
He said he had been making requests to the Department of Home Affairs since 2014 to get a copy of the VFS Global contract after he had received calls from applicants concerned about links to the Guptas.
“When the department mentioned VFS Global would handle all visa applications a few years ago, I expressed my opposition. I knew the advanced immigrant practitioner industry, which helped foreigners with their visas, would suffer.
“I made a number of requests to the department over the past two years, but to no avail.
“I did not want to make any claims until I had evidence. This week I received a receipt from a visa applicant who paid R2300 which was transferred to Islandsite investments, instead of VFS Global as it should have been.
“There are a lot of questions that can only be answered through an investigation,” said Hoosen.
He said he would write to the Public Protector’s office asking for a full investigation.
“We want to know who VFS is and what link President Zuma and Minister Malusi Gigaba have in the tender of VFS and (we want to) find the Gupta link,” he said.
Gigaba responded to Hoosen in Parliament, saying he was making wild allegations.
On Friday he rejected claims that he had signed the contract in 2011, as he had not been the Minister of Home Affairs at the time. He said that even if he had been in the post, he could not have signed because the Public Finance Management Act did not allow ministers to sign contracts.
The Department of Home Affairs did not want to comment on the allegations and said a press briefing would be held in Pretoria today where director-general Mkuseli Apleni would respond.
The Guptas could not be reached for comment.
Sunday Tribune