Johannesburg – The Zondo commission will hear Denel-related evidence on Tuesday.
Former Denel Land Systems (DLS) chief executive Stephan Burger is expected to take the stand.
When time Burger testified at the commission on November 12, he defended his role in awarding lucrative contracts to Gupta-owned VR Laser and being party to advancing the state capture project.
Burger told the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture that he saw benefits in partnering with VR Laser.
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“I passionately feel the decision to award the contract to VR Laser was the right one, they were the best company. When this proposal was made to me, I only saw the benefits in it,” he said.
Burger said he took a business decision. He said he would not deny he sometimes tripped over his own feet in applying policies but maintained the decisions were taken in the best interest of the business.
”I really get upset when people say the decisions were taken to advance state capture. I don’t think it is fair,” he explained.
“I supported business decisions if they were in line with objectives.”
He also defended his track record at DLS, where he was chief executive for 13 years, saying he took the business from a R218 million turnover and a huge overdraft, to being profitable every year.
Burger said by 2016/17, DLS’s turnover was just under R3 billion.
“That performance in my view was unprecedented,” he added.
He told commission chairperson Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo that he was given an instruction to get into dealings with VR Laser Asia, whose board he was part of. He said Denel’s contention that, based on that, criminal and civil action should be taken against him, “sounds unfair”.
Political Bureau