We were intimidated by Transnet’s Procurement officer: Bester

Former Managing Director of Rail for Hatch Engineering, Henk Bester, has told the State Capture Commission in Johannesburg that he was approached by Gupta associate, Salim Essa, who wanted Hatch to include Essa’s company as a supplier partner for a Transnet Rail Project worth R27 billion.

Bester says Essa demanded, at the Melrose Arch meeting in April 2013, that he be partnered with Hatch for the Transnet business at a cost of R80 million.

Bester says he first encountered Essa when he took over an earlier meeting which Hatch executives had arranged with former Transnet Chief Financial Anoj Singh to discuss payments.

“He said to me I mustn’t worry about the details about budgets. I recall, for instance, he told me that they have already decided who was gonna be the next CEO of Eskom and that I will clearly see it when it happens what the power is that they have and how they make decisions if I don’t believe him,” said Bester.

Asked who did Essa say that person would be, responded, “He said they decided that Mr Brian Molefe would be the CEO of Eskom.”

Bester has told the State Capture Commission he and Allan Gray who was the Managing Director for Industrial Infrastructure at Hatch were intimidated by Transnet’s Procurement officer Garry Pita into including two men who claimed to be sent by No.: 1 as project partners in R27 billion worth of Transnet project Hatch was pursuing.

He says during a meeting in Transnet Executive Anoj Singh’s office, Pita told them they had to sign a memorandum of understanding which would allow Nalen Padayachee of PM Africa and Dave Reddy of DEC Consultants to be Hatch primary supplier development partners in the Hatch’s proposal to Transnet.

“I can clearly remember at that stage it was a very uncomfortable situation,” says Bester.

Bester conceded that he had fears. Asked what fears he had, he responded, “I had fears of physical harm that was gonna be imposed on myself because of the tone of the meetings that took place and the conversations by phone and for me, it was an indication that I should be very careful.”

Proceedings below:

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