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Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe needs to urgently either confirm or deny the truth of the investigative story on a collapsed offshore gas deal.

If there is any truth in the story, then heads need to roll at Petro SA.

amaBhungane investigative journalists reported this morning that Petro SA gave a contract worth more than R21 billion to a company which was liquidated because it did not pay the less than a million Rand it owed to a soccer player from a team the company owned.

The company is Equator Holdings which was granted the contract to refurbish Petro SA’s offshore gas infrastructure.

The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy refused to make public the record of decision which would explain why the company won the contract.

Yesterday in Parliament I called on the department to be transparent and to release that record of decision.

It will be extremely concerning if the amaBhungane story is correct. It will show that a large state-owned company has fatally weak or compromised processes to give so vital a contract to a fly-by-night organisation. It will demonstrate that the leadership of Petro SA, on whose watch this happened, be replaced.

If the Petro SA leadership is not replaced, then political responsibility must be borne by Minister Mantashe.

For South Africa is to climb out of the economic hole into which it has been thrown by poor governance, those responsible for putting it in that hole need to be held accountable.

Issued by James Lorimer - DA Spokesperson on Mineral and Petroleum Resources