Johannesburg - The contentious issue of state capture, allegedly by the politically connected Gupta family, was not discussed at the ANC's peace and stability commission, State Security Minister David Mahlobo said on Tuesday.
Mahlobo, a member of the governing party's peace and stability subcommittee, briefed the media on outcomes of commission discussions at the African National Congress' 5th national policy conference held in Nasrec, Johannesburg.
Mahlobo's assessment was that the Gupta family, accused of having influence and power over government and state-owned enterprises, do not pose a threat to the country's sovereignty.
"We chose to discuss policy, not events or incidents... remember this is a policy conference," Mahlobo told reporters.
"Corruption is a cancer and should be dealt with... as a member of the ANC [National Executive Committee] NEC, I know we have taken a decision and said the president or government should proceed [to establish ] a commission of inquiry into state capture."
He added that there should be a way to "mitigate the relationship between politicians and business".
"Well some of us might have friends in business, but do they control how we do things, how we think? There's no one here who has no friend in business... but we say generally a decision was taken and outcomes should be implemented."