Johannesburg - Former heads of GCIS Themba Maseko and Mzwanele Manyi are expected to appear before the Zondo commission on Wednesday morning.
The inquiry is focusing on The New Age-related evidence. TNA was a Gupta-owned newspaper. Last week the commission heard from Eskom officials regarding the state-owned enterprise's sponsorship of the newspapers TNA breakfast briefings which were broadcast on SABC.
Maseko told the commission last year about his meeting with the eldest Gupta brother, Ajay, in 2010 at the Gupta compound in Saxonworld.
He said Ajay Gupta demonstrated the power he had over his relationship with former president Jacob Zuma.
Maseko, while on his way to meet with Gupta, received a call from former president Jacob Zuma telling him to “assist the Gupta brothers”
Gupta told Maseko during their meeting that the family wanted access to the R600 million that the GCIS spent in advertising revenue for the 2010/11 financial year. Maseko was told he should make sure that money got into the family’s The New Age newspaper account.
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Manyi denied doing anything wrong when he headed GCIS. He denied that he pushed employees to support TNA in advertising funding.
Phumla Williams, the acting director-general at GCIS, told the state capture inquiry that Manyi changed fundamental processes at GCIS.
Manyi is a former CEO of GCIS he was appointed to replace Themba Maseko, in January 2011, who was unceremoniously fired as the head of the department.
Williams said Manyi directed that the media buying committee should report to him and that he should sign off on the processing of tenders.
"We woke up one morning and we were told he changed the bid committee. With completely new people with no CFO, which the national treasury recommends. During the previous periods, the processing of tenders got completed by the chairperson of the tender board," said Williams.