On Thursday the inquiry heard testimony from former Denel Land Systems (DLS) CEO Stephan Burger, who said the decisions he took, including the controversial award of a contract to Gupta-linked company VR Laser, were with the company's interests at heart.
“In the 13 years as CEO, I inherited a business that was bankrupt. It had about a R280m turnover, a huge overdraft and very little order cover. We went through a process of refocusing the company. LMT [Land Mobility Technologies] had a role to play in refocusing the company,” Burger said.
According to Burger, Denel grew to the point that, in 2016 and 2017, the turnover of the business was just under R3bn a year.
The hearing continues.
