Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown had a close working relationship with Gupta associate Salim Essa, former Eskom board chairperson Zola Tsotsi revealed on Wednesday.
Testifying before the parliamentary inquiry into state capture, he gave details of how, in December 2014, shortly after the new Eskom board had been appointed by Minister Lynne Brown, the minister called him to her home.
"When I arrived there, she was with two individuals. One was Tony Gupta, and the other was Salim Essa."
Tsotsi said he had been summoned to discuss the allocation of Eskom board members to subcommittees.
Asked by DA MP Natasha Mazzone if Gupta and Essa were there to advise on board allocations, he said that prior to his going to the meeting, "Salim Essa would draw up his idea of the board allocation, send it to me, and ask me to pass it on to the minister".
Asked if he thought Brown took instructions from the Guptas, he said he was not in a position to say if she took instructions.
However, "it seemed to me that I was not able to complete this exercise without the involvement of Mr Essa".
"Specifically what happened was that I got a list, and I changed it to what I thought it should be. Then I sent it to the minister to get her concurrence. When she sent it back, it had been changed to what it was when I got it from Essa."