Transnet’s capture was a sophisticated operation, Popo Molefe says
The Transnet chair says he and the board saw a collection of individuals ‘with a common purpose that advanced the interests of those who were pursuing quick accumulation of wealth’
Transnet board chair Popo Molefe has described the capture of the state-owned company as a "sophisticated operation" put into effect after Brian Molefe was appointed CEO in 2011. Popo Molefe, who was testifying at the state capture inquiry on Tuesday, began with a short opening statement that described in brief the dire situation they found at Transnet when he and his board were appointed in May 2018. He said Brian Molefe came to the entity in 2011 highly recommended, and that he was generally regarded as "a man who was well-educated, and in many ways, was respected, was trained by the government under some of the ministers who are highly respected". "But before [Brian Molefe] became the CEO, the strange thing was that a publication owned by a family called the Guptas had already published that he was going to be the CEO of the company," he said.
"Once they came in there we began to see a process of a collection of individuals with a common purpose that advanced the interests ...
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