Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane plans to visit the controversial Vrede dairy farm project in the Free State‚ which has been at the centre of allegations of being a front for the Gupta family.

“This project – which saw the Guptas rake in R184 million – was aimed at empowering local residents and boosting provincial agriculture through the establishment of a large scale dairy farm. Instead‚ the only beneficiaries have been the Guptas and their business partners‚” Maimane said in a statement.

Maimane will be accompanied on the trip by DA national spokesperson Refiloe Nt’sekhe‚ Free State DA leader Patricia Kopane‚ and DA caucus leader in the Free State legislature Roy Jankielsohn‚ along with several local residents who were meant to benefit from the project.

The amaBhungane Journalism Centre reported last month that millions of rands were diverted from the project to pay for the lavish wedding of Vega Gupta in 2013.