'Guptas behind decision to block terminal'

Photo by Rob Bye via Unsplash

But Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba's counsel, Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, countered that the Guptas might have done a better job of running it if the project went out to tender. The Oppenheimers were seeking private use of pubic services, he said.

"They want a suite of immigration services to be taken away from the public " to be used by them and their VVIPs," Ngcukaitobi said.

Oppenheimer aviation company Fireblade wants to offer in-house customs and immigration facilities at its terminal built on the Denel precinct at OR Tambo airport near Johannesburg.

Fireblade has asked the North Gauteng High Court to review a decision by Gigaba to reject its application, which he made last year when he was still home affairs minister.

Security concerns

Ngcukaitobi said Gigaba was simply responding to an objection from Denel, which had raised security concerns after initially supporting the project.

"Denel told him it was fine. Now they are saying it's not okay," Ngcukaitobi said. Gigaba could not disregard "what Denel is telling them".

But Fireblade's counsel, Alistair Franklin SC, argued that Denel's last-minute security concerns were "an obvious pretext" to "throw the spanner in the works".

There was no need for a tender because Fireblade had spent "hundreds of millions" to build the terminal and would cover the cost of immigration and customs services.

He said the only plausible reason for Gigaba's change of heart was pressure from the Guptas exerted through Denel.

Denel was previously an enthusiastic supporter of the project, which had been approved by half a dozen government entities, including the finance ministry and the Airports Company SA.

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Gigaba rejected it after receiving a letter from Denel chairman Dan Mantsha.

Fireblade said in its court papers that Denel's sudden about-turn was done at the behest of the Guptas, who wanted to muscle in on their airport, citing damning information received from two Gupta pilots.

"Pilot 1" conveyed a message to Fireblade director Robbie Irons that the company needed to find a new black empowerment partner if it wanted Gigaba's approval.

Fireblade said the pilots did not depose affidavits or want their identities disclosed because they feared for their lives. In a responding affidavit Denel described Fireblade's claim as "scandalous, vexatious, spurious, speculative [and] defamatory".

Source: Business Day