Is Ramaphosa Delaying Daybreak Foods Investigation?

Statement by Andrew Bateman MP – DA Deputy Spokesperson on Appropriations:

The DA wrote again to the Presidency last week to follow up on the additional Daybreak State Capture evidence submitted in September for referral to the Special Investigating Unit (SIU).

The Presidency previously confirmed that our original request for an SIU investigation had been referred for assessment. We now need confirmation that the additional records have also reached the SIU so that they can inform its assessment.

The records show that Daybreak was billed at least R2.97 million for work relating to the State Capture Commission, including examining whether the PIC itself was implicated. Who authorised a poultry company to pay for this work, whose interests did it serve, and what was produced?

These questions form part of a wider case for investigating allegedly irregular board appointments, inflated legal and marketing payments, litigation against executives who raised concerns, interference with forensic investigations, and failures of PIC oversight.

An independent investigation must establish who knew about the alleged wrongdoing and what action they took; what became of criminal complaints; and whether investigations were obstructed or improperly delayed.

It must also examine whether political connections influenced decisions or shielded anyone from accountability. Payments must be traced to establish their ultimate beneficiaries, including whether any funds reached the ANC or internal leadership campaigns ahead of its December 2022 elective conference. We do not claim that such funding occurred. We are calling for an investigation capable of establishing the facts.

Nearly 1,900 workers lost their jobs, and approximately R2 billion invested by the PIC was placed at risk. These consequences demand an independent investigation that examines responsibility throughout the chain of decisions.

We await the Presidency’s confirmation of whether the additional evidence has been forwarded to the SIU and demand an update on the assessment of our request.

The DA welcomes the referral of our original request to the SIU for assessment and continues to call for the President to authorise a comprehensive investigation. This process must lead to answers, recovery of money where possible and consequences for wrongdoing. No person’s position or political connections should place them beyond scrutiny-not even the President.

The workers who lost their livelihoods, and the government employees, pensioners and workers whose money was entrusted to the PIC, deserve justice.