BLOEMFONTEIN - The milk processing plant at the Gupta-linked Vrede Dairy Project remains redundant and in a state of decay, the Democratic Alliance said on Sunday.
The legislature's joint committee, which includes the public accounts and agriculture committees, established on the insistence of the DA to investigate issues relating to the Vrede Dairy Project, visited the project this week, DA MPL and leader of the opposition in the Free State legislature Roy Jankielsohn said in a statement.
The site visit confirmed the evidence of former head of the Free State agriculture and rural development department Peter Thabete at the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into state capture in October 2019. The commission heard that the R106 million spent on equipment was ineffective. After arriving from India in a state of decay, the equipment remained outdated and had visibly deteriorated further, he said.
The Free State Development Corporation, who managed the project after the withdrawal of the initial company Estina, previously informed the legislature that the processing plant would require a huge investment if it was to be revived. The agriculture and rural development department had indicated that an additional excess of R30 million would be required to initiate the plant.
The R106 million Gupta-linked milk processing plant at the Vrede Dairy project remains redundant, says DA Free State MPL and leader of the opposition in the provincial legislature Roy Jankielsohn. Photo: Supplied
"It is clear that the people of the Free State were robbed of R106 million under the watch of former premier Ace Magashule, whose family members had close ties with the Guptas. The current provincial government appear to be intent on throwing more taxpayers' money into a single plant in an attempt to justify the initial wasteful expenditure in order to protect their political head in Luthuli House," Jankielsohn said.
The provincial government should rather invest in much needed basic services and ensure that the excluded beneficiaries of the project were accommodated and assisted.
The current premier should assist investigators with information that would ensure political accountability for her predecessors in the executive committee in the provincial government who were responsible for malfeasance, instead of attempting to resuscitate a dead cow that was a victim of the corruption virus, he said.