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Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo has granted permission to the legal team to admit the Gupta leaks hard drives as evidence. Zondo spent the opening hour of the day&#8217;s proceedings listening to arguments on why he should allow the emails contained on the hard drives to be admitted as evidence. CNBC Africa’s Karabo Letlhatlha gives details.

Gupta leaks data admissible as evidence – Justice Zondo

Global auditor KPMG cleared out its South African leadership on Friday after damning findings from an internal investigation into work done for the Guptas, businessmen friends of President Jacob Zuma accused of improperly influencing government contracts.
KPMG’s investigation did not identify any evidence of illegal behaviour or corruption but it did find that work done for Gupta family firms “fell considerably short of KPMG’s standards”, the auditor said in a statement.
It became the third global firm to be damaged by work carried out for the Indian-born brothers after public relations agency Bell Pottinger &#8211; whose British business collapsed this week &#8211; and consultancy McKinsey.
Both Zuma and the Guptas deny wrongdoing and say they are victims of a politically motivated witch-hunt. The Guptas and their companies have not been charged with any crime.
“This has been a painful period and the firm has fallen short of the standards we set for ourselves, and that the public rightly expects from us,” new South African CEO Nhlamu Dlomu said.
“I want to apologise to the public, our people and clients for the failings that have been identified by the investigation.”
KPMG said it would donate the 40 million rand ($3 million) it earned in fees from Gupta-controlled firms to charity and refund 23 million rand it earned compiling a controversial report for the South African tax service.
South African chief executive Trevor Hoole, chairman Ahmed Jaffer, chief operating officer Steven Louw and five senior partners all resigned.
“I absolutely understand that ultimate responsibility lies with me,” Hoole said in a statement.
KPMG is also seeking to take disciplinary action to dismiss Jacques Wessels, the lead partner on audits of Gupta-linked firms, it said. Wessels did not answer a call to his mobile phone seeking comment.
Andrew Cranston, former CEO of KPMG in Russia, has been appointed as interim chief operating officer.
“GOOD RIDDANCE”
The three Gupta brothers, Atul, Ajay and Rajesh, came to South Africa in the early 1990s and built a commercial empire stretching from computers to mining and media. The family has employed Zuma’s son Duduzane as a director of one of its subsidiaries.
The brothers have rejected accusations by a public watchdog of corruptly influencing Zuma, in one of many scandals that have damaged his presidency.
The turmoil at KPMG follows the placing into
the placing into administration of the British arm of Bell Pottinger on Tuesday, after clients deserted it because of a backlash over a racially charged political campaign it ran for the Guptas.
Global consultancy McKinsey is also being investigated by South Africa’s parliament over whether it knowingly let funds from state power utility Eskom be diverted to a Gupta company as a way of securing a $78 million contract to advise Eskom.
McKinsey is carrying out its own investigation, but has denied wrongdoing.
The Gupta scandals have piled pressure on Zuma and opened a deep divide in the ruling African National Congress, the party that has ruled since Nelson Mandela swept to power at the end of apartheid in 1994. It is due to elect a new party leader in December.
David Lewis, chief executive of Corruption Watch, an NGO that has been at the forefront of efforts to expose alleged wrongdoing by the Guptas and those around them, doubted that KPMG had really turned over a new leaf.
“Good riddance &#8211; it’s great they’ve gone,” he said. “But it’s got to go to the culture of the firm, quite frankly. I doubt that people of that seniority were conducting themselves in a manner that doesn’t reflect the culture of the firm.”
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Reporting by Joe Brock, Ed Cropley, TJ Strydom, Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo, Mfuneko Toyana and Nqobile Dludla; Writing by Joe Brock; Editing by Mark Trevelyan
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KPMG South Africa shakes out top management over Gupta scandal

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It has certainly not been happily ever after for Moses Kgosana, one of the guest at the lavish Gupta family wedding at Sun City in 2014. Kgosana, former boss at audit firm KPMG has now stepped down as Chairman of Imperials Audit Committee.

Moses Kgosana clarifies on Gupta scandal claims, quits Imperial post

In this exclusive BBC interview, Duduzane Zuma addresses a multitude of issues concerning his business dealings with the Gupta Family. 
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Duduzane Zuma speaks on his Gupta connection

Mills Soko | University of Cape Town
South Africa is reeling from a string of scandals involving state owned enterprises and the Guptas, a family with close ties to President Jacob Zuma. A trove of recently leaked Gupta emails exposed the involvement of prominent businesses in the extensive corruption networks. Sibonelo Radebe asked Mills Soko to explain the implications of the scandals.
What do you make of the situation?
If nothing else, the Gupta leaks have shown us how perilously close South Africa is to losing everything so many people fought so hard for. Not only does corruption divert capital allocated for public services away from the poor, it hollows out important state institutions and, ultimately, frays the social and economic fabric of the country. It threatens the hard won democracy and political stability.
The ongoing revelations around state capture and patronage are giving South Africans an unprecedented and frightening glimpse into the machinery of corruption. The most unnerving element of the emails is how many of the transactions appear blatant and almost casual. The absolute cynicism and lack of ethics revealed in this correspondence is breath taking.
What we do with this knowledge as a country is going to count for everything. As a business community we can look away and call these tales of corruption isolated incidents – or we can step up to ensure that our organisations hold themselves to a higher standard. Most critically the law must take its course.
What does it tell us about the role of business?
The emails remind us that in any corrupt interaction it takes two to tango. And while governments and public money are so often at the centre, the enablers of corruption are not in government but in the private sector.
With the Gupta’s at the centre of the rot, prominent international companies like accounting firm KPMG, consulting giant McKinsey, ICT player SAP, engineering company Liebherr and capital equipment manufacturer Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries have been implicated in the mounting scandal. It’s worrying to see that companies of such calibre can be involved in such nefarious activity.
Corruption is, of course, not a new phenomenon – and nor is it unique to South Africa, as the Global Corruption Index shows. But certainly, the scale of what is going on in South Africa right now is unprecedented.
How do you rate the responses by the implicated businesses?
Companies have scrambled to distance themselves from the reputational firestorm that the Gupta leaks have unleashed. McKinsey acted promptly to suspend Vikas Sagar, a director in its South African office, to allow an internal investigation to proceed. For its part SAP, which originally denied the allegations, has similarly suspended South African staff while launching a full anti-corruption investigation , which is to be carried out by a multinational law firm and overseen by its executive board member Adaire Fox-Martin.
It’s convenient to blame these incidents on bad apples. But this doesn’t get below the surface of what is really going on. The scale of the corruption and the apparent ease with which it has been unfolding speaks to the fact that something is very wrong with the system. And it highlights an utter lack of business ethics and governance failures. This isn’t something the country can afford.
What should be done to root out the corruption?
While all of this may seem overwhelming, what is unfolding also presents the business community with an opportunity for some introspection. Calls have been made for greater purpose and responsibility on the part of South African leaders.
But how can we make sure these fine words and intentions are internalised? How do we make sure as a country that our business as well as our state institutions are committed to not allowing this to happen ever again?
Educational institutions, business schools in particular, are positioned as a first-line duty in making sure that graduates are equipped to recognise and reject corruption in any form. The country needs business leaders who are committed to building sustainable and profitable businesses but who are also mindful of their social and ethical obligations.
Citizens as workers and consumers also have a significant role to play. As individuals working in companies and purchasing goods and services from companies, they can condemn unethical behaviour from companies. This was partly reflected in how the general public put pressure on Bell Pottinger the UK based public relations firm which did work for the Gupta’s.
By rounding on Bell Pottinger, effectively causing the company to lock its Twitter account and issue a formal and unprecedented apology to the country (even though they also blamed the fiasco on bad apples rather than the system), South Africans have shown the power they can wield when united against wrongdoing.
But the country needs to go further. While government and business have not enjoyed the best relationship in recent times, they need to bury the hatchet and come together to fix the inequalities in this country. Deep divisions have laid South Africa open to the kind of racist exploitation that Bell Pottinger unleashed.
Until the country rights this situation, it will continue to remain vulnerable to these kinds of nefarious influences. South Africa needs to be united in the spirit of building a country that works for everyone – not just a select few. Things are broken, yes – but it’s not impossible to repair the damage.

South African business must own up to its part in the corruption scandals

One of South Africa&#8217;s Gupta brothers said leaked emails suggesting his family used links to President Jacob Zuma to win contracts and influence decisions were fake, a rare intervention in a scandal that has rocked the government.
Atul Gupta &#8211; whose family business empire spans media, mining and technology &#8211; told the BBC he had no idea where more than 100,000 documents and emails released in the media since June had come from.
&#8220;There&#8217;s no authenticity of Gupta leaks at all,&#8221; he said, without suggesting who might have forged them or addressing specific allegations in the paperwork.
Senior members of the ruling African National Congress party have accused the three Gupta brothers of using their relationship with Zuma to wield influence and win business.
Media reports based on the emails have drawn several international firms into a scandal that has prompted politicians to call for a judicial enquiry and Zuma&#8217;s resignation.
Zuma and the Guptas have denied wrongdoing. A family spokesman last month said the allegations were false and part of a &#8220;blatantly political campaign&#8221;.
<h3 data-reactid="44">Pr Campaign</h3>
Atul Gupta said his family also had no role in a publicity campaign by London-based public relations firm Bell Pottinger that cast enemies of Zuma as agents of &#8220;white monopoly capital&#8221;.
The slogan, aired frequently on a Gupta-owned television station, quickly gained traction in a country where the white minority still wields disproportionate economic clout two decades after the end of apartheid.
Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa and opposition members have said the campaign inflamed racial tensions.
&#8220;I don&#8217;t know what this narrative comes from. White monopoly capital, if you go research any revolutionary speech in this country, always existed. I don&#8217;t know where any of these terms come from, believe me,&#8221; he told BBC Radio 4&#8217;s World at One show on Tuesday.
The leaked emails suggested Bell Pottinger worked with Zuma&#8217;s son, Duduzane, who was then a director at a subsidiary of the Gupta-controlled Oakbay company, to create a &#8220;narrative that grabs the attention of the grassroots&#8221;.
Bell Pottinger ended its work with Oakbay in April and last month apologised for the campaign and fired a partner in charge of it.
The firm is also under investigation by Britain&#8217;s Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) after a complaint from South Africa&#8217;s main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA).
&#8220;It wasn&#8217;t an intention to play with race, it was an intention to highlight a very real issue,&#8221; Bell Pottinger&#8217;s Chief Executive James Henderson told the BBC.
&#8220;Knowing what I know now, clearly in hindsight, they (the team) got involved in a situation which was much more political than clearly had been anticipated by them at the time.&#8221;
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Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by James Macharia and Andrew Heavens
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Gupta brother says South Africa influence peddling emails are fake

South African Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba said on Friday he was worried about the influence of a wealthy family accused of using its friendship with President Jacob Zuma to secure contracts with state-owned companies.
Gigaba&#8217;s unusually strong comments came the day after power utility Eskom suspended its chief financial officer Anoj Singh pending an investigation into allegations that he granted preferential treatment to firms linked to the Gupta family, business friends of Zuma.
Gigaba is close to Zuma and seen as an ally. He took office after Zuma fired highly respected finance minister Pravin Gordhan in a March cabinet reshuffle.
Singh, the Gupta family and Zuma have denied any wrongdoing.
&#8220;Like all South Africans, I am very worried about them and I think we need to establish fact from allegation,&#8221; Gigaba told the Cape Talk radio station when asked about a slew of leaked emails that have detailed the Gupta family&#8217;s business dealings.
&#8220;The allegations are quite damaging to the investor perceptions, as well as ratings agencies, of the governance of our state-owned companies,&#8221; Gigaba said.
He also said he supported the establishment of a commission of judicial enquiry, called for last year by South Africa&#8217;s top anti-graft watchdog, to investigate the mounting allegations swirling around the family.
A number of international companies have been drawn into the widening scandals, including Germany&#8217;s SAP and Software AG, and global consultancy McKinsey.
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Reporting by Ed Stoddard; Editing by James Macharia and Mark Heinrich
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South Africa finance minister says worried about Gupta family

Germany&#8217;s SAP named a new executive team in South Africa on Friday, two days after the software giant put four senior managers on leave, pending its investigations into allegations that it was involved in a government bribery scheme.
SAP said 25-year company veteran Claas Kuehnemann will step into the role of acting managing director for Africa, in charge of the company&#8217;s business in 51 countries, and that Peter David, its finance chief for Europe, Middle East and Africa, will become acting chief financial officer, SAP Africa.
Europe&#8217;s largest software company also said it had hired Chicago-based international law firm Baker McKenzie to conduct an external investigation. SAP said on Wednesday it would run its own, internal probe using its own compliance organisation.
Baker McKenzie will work with various experts, including forensic firm FTI Consulting, the company said.
&#8220;My interim role is to support our employees, customers and partners across all our business sectors while the due diligence process is conducted,&#8221; Kuehnemann said in a statement.
South African media reported on Tuesday that SAP paid alleged kickbacks in the form of sales commissions to a firm linked to the politically connected Gupta family, who are known to be close friends of President Jacob Zuma.
AmaBhungane, an investigative reporting group, together with the Daily Maverick&#8217;s Scorpio investigative team, reported that the alleged kickbacks were to clinch a deal with rail and logistics company Transnet and other state-owned firms worth 1 billion rand ($76.7 million).
The AmaPhungane report was based on leaked emails and documents that they say show how the powerful Gupta family unduly influenced the awarding of government contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
SAP has not named the four senior executives it put on administrative leave while investigating the company&#8217;s actions.
Reuters has not been able to independently verify the allegations.
The Guptas, Indian-born South Africans, and Zuma have denied wrongdoing. A Gupta family spokesman and Zuma&#8217;s spokesman did not respond to calls and emails for comment on the SAP story.
Transnet said in a statement that it has been an SAP customer since 2000 but that it was unaware of the parties reportedly involved in SAP sales to the company. It referred queries to SAP and its sales partners.
Baker McKenzie advises a wide range of African companies, multinationals and financial institutions and employs 60 attorneys from its offices in Johannesburg.

SAP names acting executive team, law firm for South Africa probe

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South Africa Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba said government cannot give free bailouts to state owned companies; and called for good corporate governance to improve performance of SOEs.

SOEs must show improved performance – Malusi Gigaba

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South Africa&#8217;s Minister of Finance Malusi Gigaba spoke on his relationship with the Gupta family and his name being linked to the Gupta leaked e-mails.

Malusi Gigaba dissociates his name from Gupta leaks

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South Africa&#8217;s Minister of Finance Malusi Gigaba gives his stance on the importance of the independence of the South African Reserve Bank highlighting the role of the monetary policy during a receding economy.

Malusi Gigaba reaffirms commitment to reserve bank’s independence

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JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa&#8217;s ruling African National Congress party is being damaged by leaked emails alleging fraud in the awarding of state contracts, ANC Secretary General Gwede Mantashe said on Tuesday.
AmaBhungane, a non-profit group that has a strong track record of exposing what its says is government corruption, last week released some of more than 100,000 leaked emails and documents.
It said the emails show companies owned by the Gupta family unduly influence the awarding of government contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Reuters was not able to independently verify the allegations.
President Jacob Zuma has denied wrongdoing and the Gupta family and its companies have also denied all allegations of influence-peddling or improper dealings.
Mantashe&#8217;s comments come six months before the ANC, Nelson Mandela&#8217;s erstwhile liberation movement that has ruled since the end of apartheid in 1994, holds a conference where members will choose a successor to Zuma.
He said the debate about removing the 75-year old leader would become &#8220;less complex&#8221; when a new ANC leader is chosen at the party conference in December.
Zuma, who has survived two no-confidence votes within the party in the last six months, can stay in power until a 2019 election.
(Reporting by Joe Brock; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
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South African ANC’s Mantashe bemoans damage on party by leaked emails

Mfuneko Toyana | PRETORIA
South Africa&#8217;s Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba said on Friday he would not be implicated in documents leaked to the media that allegedly expose influence-peddling in government.
Gigaba said allegations he was involved in anything untoward were &#8220;made to impugn my integrity and is meant to divert us from the work of transformation and growing the economy&#8221; adding that he had &#8220;done no wrong&#8221;.
Some South African media reported on Thursday they had access to over 100,000 leaked documents and emails that showed improper dealings in lucrative government contracts by business friends of President Jacob Zuma.
(Reporting by Mfuneko Toyana; Writing by TJ Strydom; Editing by Joe Brock)
http://cnbc.africa/trending/state-capture/2017/06/02/south-african-graft-accusations-expose-split-anc-zuma/

South Africa’s Gigaba says not implicated in leaked documents

Joe Brock | JOHANNESBURG
The ruling African National Congress said on Friday it is gravely concerned by leaked documents alleging influence-peddling by friends of President Jacob Zuma, deepening a divide in South Africa&#8217;s ruling party over its leader.
Some South African media reported on Thursday they had access to over 100,000 leaked documents and emails that showed improper dealings in lucrative government contracts by business friends of Zuma.
The latest allegations of influence-peddling may deepen divisions in the ANC as factions battle for control ahead of a party conference in December where a successor to the beleaguered, scandal-plagued Zuma will be chosen. Zuma can remain as head of state until an election in 2019.
Zuma and the Gupta family, wealthy Indian-born businessmen whose companies have contracts with state-owned firms, have not commented but have denied similar allegations in the past. Reuters could not independently verify the new allegations.
&#8220;These reports contain very worrying claims about the nature of the relationship between government and private interests,&#8221; the ANC said in a statement, calling on government to urgently establish the veracity of the leaks.
&#8220;The ANC views these allegations in a very serious light as, if left unattended, they call into question the integrity and credibility of the government.&#8221;
The statement appeared to contradict Zuma, who said at a parliamentary session on Thursday that he was not interested in &#8220;hearsay&#8221; published in newspapers.
A backroom schism in the ANC over Zuma has burst into the open in recent weeks as his opponents seek to oust him or ensure his chosen candidate does not take over the reins.
Analysts say Zuma&#8217;s camp will back his ex-wife and former African Union chair Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma in December, while another faction will support Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa.
ANC SPLIT IN TWO
&#8220;This week we have seen there are clearly two ANCs,&#8221; said political analyst Daniel Silke.
&#8220;One ANC sees very little wrong with crony capitalism, kickbacks and shady payments. The other ANC sees the reputation of the party among the electorate disintegrating and fear the real possibility they could lose power.&#8221;
Opposition parties have made upbeat comments about unseating the ANC in 2019, an unthinkable scenario a few years ago for a party that has led comfortably since it swept to power under Nelson Mandela at the end of apartheid in 1994.
Zuma survived a call to resign at an ANC meeting last week due to disputes over political appointments and his friendship with the Gupta family.
Parliament is expected to hold a no-confidence vote in Zuma later this year but he has survived similar attempts before.
When Zuma sacked respected finance minister Pravin Gordhan in March, three of the top six members of the ANC, including Ramaphosa, openly criticising his decision, breaking the party&#8217;s strict rule of showing unity in public.
Gordhan&#8217;s replacement Malusi Gigaba has been accused of having close ties to the Guptas. Gigaba said on Friday that he had done nothing wrong and the leaked documents would not link him to the family.
(Additional reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo, TJ Strydom and Tiisetso Motsoeneng; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Gupta leaks

Gupta leaks data admissible as evidence – Justice Zondo

KPMG South Africa shakes out top management over Gupta scandal

Moses Kgosana clarifies on Gupta scandal claims, quits Imperial post

Duduzane Zuma speaks on his Gupta connection

South African business must own up to its part in the corruption scandals

Gupta brother says South Africa influence peddling emails are fake

South Africa finance minister says worried about Gupta family

SAP names acting executive team, law firm for South Africa probe

SOEs must show improved performance – Malusi Gigaba

Malusi Gigaba dissociates his name from Gupta leaks

Malusi Gigaba reaffirms commitment to reserve bank’s independence

South African ANC’s Mantashe bemoans damage on party by leaked emails

South Africa’s Gigaba says not implicated in leaked documents

South African graft accusations expose split in ANC over Zuma

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Gupta leaks

Gupta leaks data admissible as evidence – Justice Zondo

KPMG South Africa shakes out top management over Gupta scandal

Moses Kgosana clarifies on Gupta scandal claims, quits Imperial post

Duduzane Zuma speaks on his Gupta connection

South African business must own up to its part in the corruption scandals

Gupta brother says South Africa influence peddling emails are fake

South Africa finance minister says worried about Gupta family

SAP names acting executive team, law firm for South Africa probe

SOEs must show improved performance – Malusi Gigaba

Malusi Gigaba dissociates his name from Gupta leaks

Malusi Gigaba reaffirms commitment to reserve bank’s independence

South African ANC’s Mantashe bemoans damage on party by leaked emails

South Africa’s Gigaba says not implicated in leaked documents

South African graft accusations expose split in ANC over Zuma

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