Mokoena – Did the ANC make any promises to Oakbay?
“No, decisions were not taken,” was Mantashe’s answer.
“We listen. We get the information. We don’t respond on the spot.”
However, the ANC was concerned about job losses if Oakbay was unable to perform banking transactions and pay their workers.
Mantashe said that senior ANC officials adopted a “framework of principles” that the party would use as guidelines when interacting with the concerned banks about a solution to avoid job losses.
Mokoena – Can you now take us through those guidelines?
“The ANC must be mindful that the banks are not permitted to share information about their clients with a third party,” Mantashe testified.
This is contrary to the testimony given by the banks.
The banks told the commission that ANC politicians attempted to discuss the Gupta accounts specifically, and that it was actually the banks that had to insist on maintaining privacy where client accounts were concerned.
Mantashe said he would avail himself to the commission at a future date to shed light on other issues related to the investigation into state capture, including witness testimony during which the ANC was mentioned.