Gupta brothers unlikely to be called to give evidence in state capture inquiry

It is unlikely that the Gupta brothers will be called to give evidence in Parliament's state capture inquiry.

The inquiry by the portfolio committee on public enterprises got under way on Tuesday.

Opening proceedings‚ acting chairwoman of the committee Zukiswa Rantho said the inquiry was aimed at uncovering facts and as such "no one is accused of any wrong doing".

She said "individuals likely to be implicated by the testimony" would be allowed to attend the proceedings in Parliament or send a representative‚ but they would not be called upon to give evidence.

The committee has kept the list of people giving evidence under wraps‚ with those coming before the committee only being identified on the day of their appearance.

First to appear before the committee was energy specialist Professor Anton Eberhard‚ who was part of a team of academics from UCT and Stellenbosch which prepared a reference book for the inquiry‚ gathering and detailing information relating to Eskom.

The inquiry is being conducted in phases - looking at Eskom before moving onto Transnet and then Denel.

Eberhard told the committee that the "core hypothesis" around state capture was that "it's not a number of individual acts of corruption‚ but a systemic political project to benefit a politically-connected elite".

He said state capture threatened economic development and transformation in the country.

He said Eskom was "by far South Africa's largest state-owned entity" and with the biggest chunk of its spending - R50-billion per year - going towards coal‚ "it is no surprise that some of the most blatant acts of corruption happened here".

In 2011‚ he said‚ average coal costs were R190 per tonne‚ increasing to over R400 per tonne today.

He said electricity prices had increased by 400 percent in the past decade‚ when they should only have increased at the rate of inflation. While this was largely to do with delayed capital expenditure projects like Medupi and Kusile running over budget and over time‚ it was "very unusual" and had a "major impact on the economy and consumption".

Rantho said state capture was "very complex and very big" but it "affects every single South African" and "when Eskom increases its tariffs‚ the most underprivileged are affected".