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It’s been a day of drama confusion and fire as the Gupta mining empire unravelled.

Explainer: Which Guptas assets are in business rescue?

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CNBC Africa is joined by Business Rescue Specialist, Johan Louis Klopper talk to walk us through how the intend to save the sinking Gupta businesses.

We don’t need Gupta input to rescue SA businesses – Johan Louis Klopper

Heavily armed South African police raided the luxury home of the Gupta family on Wednesday as part of a probe into allegations the three brothers had corrupt links with President Jacob Zuma, who has been ordered by the ruling ANC to quit as head of state.
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The raid, which the state broadcaster said resulted in two arrests including one Gupta family member, came amid reports Zuma was preparing to tell South Africa he was stepping down after nine years in office dogged by scandal and economic stagnation.
Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba said Zuma would speak at 0800 GMT and satellite trucks were in position at Pretoria’s Union Buildings, the seat of the country’s government. Zuma’s office said there was no “official communication” of any impending address but urged media to wait.
The raid on the Gupta’s compound marks a dramatic escalation in the pressure on Zuma and the political faction around him accused of milking state resources for their own ends.
A dozen officers from the elite Hawks police unit sealed off a street leading to the Gupta home in Johannesburg’s upscale Saxonwold suburb. One officer blocked access to Reuters, saying: “This is a crime scene.”
Minutes later, an unmarked police van left the compound as residents applauded police officers and hurled abuse at security guards for the Guptas, who have been accused by South Africa’s top anti-corruption watchdog of influence-peddling and swaying the appointment of cabinet ministers.
“Finally something is being done about it. These guys must get out of our country. They must leave us alone. They have done enough damage,” said Tessa Turvey, head of the local residents’ association, standing outside.
On Tuesday, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) ordered Zuma to step down as president of the country, giving him no firm deadline but saying the party was sure he would comply and “respond” on Wednesday.
Zuma and the Guptas &#8211; a family of wealthy Indian-born businessmen &#8211; deny any wrongdoing.
A lawyer for the Gupta family said he could not comment on the raid because he had yet to see the search warrant.
Hawks spokesman Hangwani Mulaudzi said the raid was part of an investigation into allegations of influence peddling. The allegations are also the subject of a judicial inquiry on wider corruption dubbed “state capture” in local media.
“We’re not playing around in terms of making sure that those who are responsible in the so-called state capture, they take responsibility for it,” Mulaudzi said.
He declined to give details of what was seized or if the business premises of the Guptas, whose commercial empire stretches from mining to media, would also be raided, saying a full statement would be released later.
“DISCIPLINED MEMBER”
Signs of law enforcement mobilizing against the Guptas &#8211; and by association Zuma &#8211; caused the rand to strengthen 0.5 percent against the dollar. The currency has tended to gain ground on any sign of Zuma’s political departure approaching.
So far there has been silence from Zuma in response to Tuesday’s ANC order, suggesting a power struggle behind the scenes with new party leader Cyril Ramaphosa.
Besides his controversial relationship with the Guptas, Zuma has 783 counts of corruption outstanding against him relating to a multi-billion dollar state arms deal in the late 1990s.
Zuma’s spokesman could not be reached for comment.
ANC spokesman Pule Mabe told state broadcaster SABC that Zuma remained “a disciplined member of the ANC and would do what is best for a cadre of the movement”.
Besides the pressure from the ANC, Zuma is facing a no-confidence motion in parliament brought by the opposition Economic Freedom Fighters and set for Feb. 22.
The ANC could throw its weight behind such a vote if Zuma, who has survived several no-confidence motions in the past, refused to resign. The entire Cabinet would have to step down if such a vote went through.
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Additional reporting by Tiisetso Motsoeneng in Johannesburg and Wendell Roelf in Cape Town; editing by John Stonestreet
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South African police raid Gupta home, pressure cranks up on Zuma

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Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo firmly assured South Africans this afternoon of a fearless probe into the allegations of the state being captured.

Deputy Chief Justice Zondo assures S.Africans of a thorough state capture probe

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The Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprise inquiry into alleged state capture at state owned entities will today hear from the embattled duo that is Eskom’s head of generation‚ Matshela Koko‚ and now resigned former CFO, Anoj Singh.

Why Eskom’s Matshela Koko won’t go quietly

(DAVOS) Leaden skies sent forth a blizzard over the 48th gathering of the World Economic Forum in the ski-resort of Davos in Switzerland, the highest and surely the coldest spot in Europe, where South African delegates hope to shed light on the future of their national power generator Eskom.
Delegates arriving at the gathering of thousands of top world business names plus heads of state and ministers from 70 countries said it was the worst weather they had seen for years and snowdrifts saw traffic into Davos held up for hours.
A large and strong South African delegation will be at Davos &#8211; at least seven ministers including Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba. They will be led by President-elect Cyril Ramaphosa who is on a mission to clean up and beef up the country&#8217;s wavering economy. Other South African names including billionaire Patrice Motsepe and Bonang Mohale the head of Business Leadership South Africa are also there.
&#8220;Eskom is teetering on the brink.The delegation wants to talk to its investors in Davos to try to persuade them not to pull their money out so the government has time to fix it,&#8221; says one South African insider on the road to Davos.
		
				
		
Ramaphosa will also be looking to convince investors, amid the snowflakes, that South Africa is open for business and that he is serious about cleaning up corruption. In a pre-Davos breakfast in Johannesburg on Thursday he said he wanted the National Prosecuting Authority to move faster in tackling cases. He applauded the freezing of assets of people under question, like the Gupta family, but wanted more.
&#8220;We want people doing wrong things to be dealt with,&#8221; Ramaphosa said.
One of the highlights of the week will be the visit of Donald Trump who is expected to fly in on Friday. It is likely to add spice to the gathering as Trump has long dismissed the well meaning economic globalists of Davos.
<a href="http://cnbc.africa/category/insights/world-economic-forum/">FOR MORE STORIES ON WEF DAVOS CLICK HERE</a>
African delegates could also ponder giving Trump a cold welcome to a cold Swiss mountain side in response to the <a href="http://cnbc.africa/news/political/2018/01/13/africa-response-to-shithole/">US president&#8217;s recent disparaging remarks about Africa</a>.
&#8220;Many of us will be boycotting your address to delegates at Davos in protest against your divisive comments and continued failure to unequivocally apologise,&#8221;wrote Mohale angrily in the South African newspapers.
Many other members of the African delegations are likely to agree, but are equally unlikely to prise an apology out of Trump. .

Tough talk expected over Eskom in dark Davos winterland

*Story updated with emailed comment from Hogan Lovells
Lord Peter Hain who has made it his business to expose the Guptas and institutions he alleges assisted them capturing the South African state, accused Hogan Lovells on Monday during a speech to the House of Lords of &#8220;propping up state capture, corruption, cronyism and money laundering in South Africa.&#8221;
He also referred the international law firm headquartered in London, to the Solicitors Regulation Authority for allegedly enabling Jonas Makwakwa to return to his post as &#8220;second-in-command of the critically important South African Revenue Service (SARS)&#8221;.
Hain alleges Hogan Lovells spared what he alleges are &#8220;two of the most notorious perpetrators of state capture in South Africa – Tom Moyane, head of SARS and his deputy, Jonas Makwakwa – from accountability for their complicity in, and cover up of, serious financial crimes. In so doing, Hogan Lovells was complicit in undermining South Africa’s once revered tax-collection agency, and thereby effectively underpinning President Jacob Zuma and his business associates, the Gupta brothers and others, in perverting South Africa’s democracy, damaging its economy and robbing its taxpayers&#8221;.
Hogan Lovells describes Lord&#8217;s Hain&#8217;s accusations as unfounded &#8220;reflecting a lack of understanding of the work we were asked to carry out for the South African Revenue Service.  We are disappointed that he ignored the evidence which we provided to him and the other committee members earlier today. He did not contact us in advance of making his statement to the House of Lords and instead appears to have relied on inaccurate press reports in South Africa.”
 &#8220;We have fully reported the details of our engagement with SARS to the independent South African Parliament Standing Committee on Finance and we are very confident in its accuracy and probity.  Anyone who wants to take the time to understand our limited role in this matter can very easily read about it on the Parliament’s website or our own.” 
 “We have a fundamental duty to uphold the rule of law with integrity and professionalism, and have been strong advocates of that in South Africa. If Lord Hain does have evidence of corruption then that should be reported to the appropriate authorities in South Africa.  We look forward to working closely with the SRA on any complaint made to them by Lord Hain.”
Hain has called on the SRA to withdraw &#8220;Hogan Lovells’ authorisation as a recognised body; and to examine what other disciplinary action can be taken against its leading Partners including withdrawing their permission to practise as a solicitors&#8221;.
In a previous statement sent to CNBC Africa by SARS it expressed its deep concern at media reports spreading the allegation that there has been impropriety on the part ofMoyane in dealing with the disciplinary investigation into Chief Officer: Business &amp; Individual Taxes, Makwakwa.
In its statement SARS said: 
Firstly, it is not true that Hogan Lovells did not investigate the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) suspicious transactions. Neither is it true that Hogan Lovells issued a media statement to that effect.
All transactions as per the FIC suspicious report were put to Mr Makwakwa to respond and he did. It was those responses which lead to Hogan Lovells concluding that an act of misconduct could not be found from the transactions and their sources.
SARS wishes to assist with a factual and chronological account of events. Mr Moyane received the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) Report in May 2016.
After seeking advice, he placed Mr Makwakwa on precautionary suspension on 15 September 2016 so as to investigate whether or not any possible misconduct may have been committed by Mr Makwakwa relating to the FIC report.
The firm Hogan Lovells, an international and renowned law firm, was appointed to conduct this investigation.
In essence, their mandate which clearly reflects in their terms of reference was to determine whether any misconduct had been committed by Mr Makwakwa and/or Ms Kelly-Anne Elskie in their capacity as SARS employees.
Whilst on suspension, Mr Makwakwa committed what SARS believed to be a breach of his suspension conditions. This arose from a telephone call he made on 13 January 2017 to a SARS employee regarding an active tax matter.
On 20 January 2017, whilst the main investigation was still ongoing and whilst on suspension, disciplinary charges were served on Makwakwa relating solely to this breach of his suspension conditions.
Hogan Lovells concluded its investigation based on the mandate stated above and delivered an investigation report to Mr Moyane in June 2017. The Hogan Lovells report concluded that there was no prima facie evidence that Mr Makwakwa had committed any misconduct in relation to the financial transactions emanating from the FIC report.
However, the recommendation was that Mr Makwakwa be charged for violating the SARS Conflict of Interest disclosure provisions as well as the SARS Code of Conduct.
A decision was then taken to expand the existing charges already served on Mr Makwakwa in January 2017 to include charges relating to the allegation of non-disclosure.
Mr Moyane appointed Advocate Terry Motau, SC, a senior counsel from the Johannesburg Bar, to chair the disciplinary enquiry with the guidance and assistance of Hogan Lovells.
The expanded enquiry concluded on 15 August 2017 and the outcome was received from the chairperson on 13 October 2017.
Accordingly, Mr Makwakwa was found not guilty of all charges. Contrary to media reports spreading the allegation that the processes were tainted and that Mr Moyane had a hand in allegedly tainting the processes, the above clearly demonstrates a patently fair, unbiased and independent process.
SARS is concerned that wide spread media reports seem to suggest that SARS erred by allowing Mr Makwakwa back into his employ given that there is a criminal matter pending. This assertion displays a lack of understanding of the difference between a misconduct investigation by an employer and a criminal investigation.
It is common knowledge that FIC – not SARS – referred the matter to the South African Police Service for an investigation on possible criminal acts.
Thus in September 2016, upon enquiry, Mr Moyane was advised by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) that an enquiry into Mr Makwakwa and Ms Elskie, arising from the FIC report, was on-going under enquiry number 03/06/2016.
In law, disciplinary proceedings and criminal proceedings are distinct and are governed by different legislation.
As an employer, Mr Moyane’s jurisdiction only goes as far as determining whether or not there is any misconduct related to the employment relationship. The responsibility to pursue criminal charges in a court of law lies with the National Prosecuting Authority based on investigations by the SAPS or DPCI.
Given the outcome of the SARS disciplinary process and the fact that no decision had been taken by DPCI on whether or not Mr Makwakwa should be criminally prosecuted at that time, Mr Moyane was advised that there was no legal justification for SARS not to lift Mr Makwakwa&#8217;s suspension.
As a result, he was allowed to resume his duties with effect from 1 November 2017. Any other action would have amounted to a violation of Mr Makwakwa’s legal rights as an employee.
It is important to be aware that SARS’s rights have been reserved to initiate possible new internal disciplinary proceedings should the outcome of the criminal process dictate so.
SARS notes that the media reports seem to insinuate incorrectly that SARS has refused to release the report by Hogan Lovells.
Mr Moyane has sought legal guidance regarding the release of the FIC and Hogan Lovells investigation reports. The advice he has received suggests that a crime would be committed should these reports be made public.
Similar observations were made by the chairperson of Standing Committee of Finance (SCOF), Mr Yunus Carrim in his letter addressed to the Commissioner Moyane dated 6 November 2017, in which he noted the possibility that legal reasons may exist for the non-release of the reports.
To reach consensus and ensure closure on this matter, Mr Moyane has written to SCOF chairman Mr Carrim, making the following proposal:
* That a team consisting of legal representatives from SARS, the National Assembly, Treasury and FIC meet urgently to collectively engage and agree on a seasoned Senior Counsel to deliver an opinion on the legal permissibility of disclosing the reports
* That the National Assembly facilitate the process bearing in mind the urgency to get clarity on this matter.
The above detailed background and the process we are requesting of SCOF demonstrate our willing to always be transparent to the public so that we are forever beyond reproach.
In previous speeches Lord Hain has accused companies headquartered in the UK – including Bell Pottinger, KPMG, McKinsey, SAP, and banks such as HSBC, Standard Chartered and Baroda – of aiding and abetting money laundering, corruption and state capture in South Africa

Lord Hain accuses Hogan Lovells of propping up state capture

Canada’s trade financing agency Export Development Canada (EDC) said on Thursday it has scrapped a deal to help finance the sale of a Bombardier Inc jet to the wealthy Gupta family in South Africa.
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The Guptas failed to meet loan repayment obligations in recent weeks and, with the EDC assessing a “political exposure” risk, it terminated the loan which allowed Canada’s Bombardier to sell a Global 6000 jet to them, the Globe and Mail had reported earlier.
Under a December 2014 agreement, the Canadian government’s export agency was financing 80 percent of the C$52 million ($41 million) cost of the aircraft, according to the Globe and Mail.
“I can confirm that the contract has been terminated,” Shelley Maclean, a spokeswoman for Export Development Canada said in an email when asked about the Globe and Mail’s story.
Bombardier said EDC was an an important partner. “We support them in exercising their policies as they see fit,” it said in an emailed statement.
The Gupta family could not immediately be reached for comment.
South African President Jacob Zuma has faced allegations that his friends, the businessmen and brothers Ajay, Atul and Rajesh Gupta, have wielded undue influence over his government including influencing appointment of ministers.
Zuma and the Guptas have denied the accusations.
Last week, South Africa’s High Court ruled that Zuma must set up a judicial inquiry into state influence-peddling, the latest in a series of judicial blows to his scandal-tinged administration.
($1 = 1.2835 Canadian dollars)
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Reporting by Kanishka Singh, additional reporting by Tanisha Heiberg; Editing by Adrian Croft
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Canada cancels loan to South Africa’s Gupta family for Bombardier jet purchase

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An affidavit was deposed at the North Gauteng High court yesterday on behalf of the Helen Suzman Foundation and Magda Wierzycka, Sygnia CEO and Activist, arguing that in the absence of action by the relevant organs of state and law enforcement agencies to address the clear evidence of corruption and maladministration at Eskom, they want the court to recover all of the proceeds of this activity, totalling several billion rand for the benefit of the South African fiscus. Activist investor, Magda Wierzycka joins CNBC Africa for more.

Eskom lawsuit: We have a strong case – Magda Wierzycka

Statement by the Board of Naspers
The Board of Naspers today issued the following statement:
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There seems to be persistent baiting of Naspers to intervene in the affairs of MultiChoice. 
While some reporting is no doubt driven by an honourable wish to expose corruption, some 
of it is clearly intended to apply pressure on Naspers to force MultiChoice to take the news 
channel ANN7 off the air.
That channel is closely associated with the Gupta family and, given the recent exposure of 
corruption linked to them, it is felt inappropriate that they should have a voice on television 
and that MultiChoice should facilitate that. A wide variety of issues, complaints and 
allegations have recently been made.
A few notes about that:
<ul>
<li>Some allegations are even at face value spurious or even malicious, for example 
reports that the Guptas have a stake in Takealot. Or that a public meeting of the top 
executives of MultiChoice and the SABC to negotiate satellite and DTT channel 
carriage &#8211; which was called by the SABC, conducted at their main premises, attended 
by their top echelon and duly minuted &#8211; was somehow clandestine and illegal.</li>
<li>Some allegations need more time to check thoroughly. We operate many businesses 
in 120 countries and need to respect the autonomy of our operating companies, 
where we have separate independent boards, plus partners or other shareholders. 
The responsibility for dealing with these allegations lies with the MultiChoice board. 
We have confidence in them handling the matter, following their governance 
procedures. Naspers is committed to strong governance and requires the same of its 
subsidiaries. Of course, once they’ve done that properly, they will report back to the 
Naspers board and the public.</li>
<li>A suggestion by ex-communications minister Yunus Carrim that Koos Bekker once met 
with him regarding encryption is perfectly accurate. Here are the facts: this meeting 
took place in Pretoria and was for the full duration also attended by Minister Pravin 
Gordhan, whom we greatly respect. Minister Gordhan can attest to the content of 
the meeting and whether any Gupta-related or any other illegal matter was discussed.</li>
<li>For the record, neither of Ton Vosloo, previous chair of Naspers, Koos Bekker, present 
chair, or Bob van Dijk, CEO, had to their best recollection ever in any country met any 
member of the Gupta family at any but public funtions, never discussed anything with 
them, never even received written communitions or a single telephone call from 
them.</li>
<li>We understand the frustration some people feel that a channel associated with 
corruption is still being broadcast. But the nature of a satellite platform is to provide 
the largest number and the most diverse voices for the public to choose from. The 
public decides what to watch. Media freedom and diversity are values worth 
protecting in an open democracy. We do not think it wise to terminate a channel that 
participates in the debate about ANC succession barely two weeks before the elective 
conference.</li>
<li>
So, in conclusion, while we understand the frustration, we also suggest that further baiting of Naspers to override MultiChoice in this matter is not conducive to an open democracy.</li>
</ul>

Naspers statement on Multichoice

South African utility Eskom said on Thursday rolling power cuts are unlikely despite coal supply possibly falling below a 20-day requirement at its Hendrina power station.
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On Thursday investigative news outfit AmaBhungane reported Eskom may be forced into nationwide electricity cuts after a coal mine linked to the Gupta family threatened to halt supply.
Eskom has been at the heart of allegations of illegal contracts and undue influence in awarding tenders to the Gupta family, friends of South African President Jacob Zuma.
Spokesman Khulu Phasiwe confirmed Eskom had held an emergency meeting last Friday to determine whether strategic coal stockpiles at Hendrina and other stations were sufficient after Tegeta Exploration and Resources threatened to halt supply to Hendrina.
Coal supply at Eskom’s power stations stood at 74 days’ worth in March but had fallen to 25 days’ worth at Hendrina by October and may have fallen below a 20-day requirement since, Phasiwe said.
He told Reuters the company was investigating whether supply at all its 12 power stations complied with regulations requiring at least 20 days’ worth.
South Africa had regular power cuts between 2008 and 2015, hitting key industries and knocking economic growth as demand exceeded capacity.
Quoting sources, AmaBhungane alleged that Tegeta has been exporting coal from its Optimum Coal Mine while limiting supply to Eskom.
“If it happens that for some reason they are unable to supply us with coal then clearly it means that they would have breached the contract and therefore it becomes a legal matter,” Eskom’s Phasiwe said.
A spokeswoman for Tegeta parent company Oakbay, founded by the Gupta family as its main investment vehicle in South Africa, said the company would likely comment on Friday.
The family agreed in August to sell Tegeta but the sale has not been finalised.
The Guptas are accused of using their links with the 75-year old Zuma to wield influence and win state contracts. Zuma and the family both deny any wrongdoing.
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Editing by Ed Stoddard and Jason Neely
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Eskom says rolling cuts unlikely despite coal supply fall

South African President Jacob Zuma reiterated a call on Monday for radical reforms to shift the balance of “monopoly” economic power away from whites who dominated under apartheid, saying without such change blacks would stay poor for a long time.
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He made the remarks, reiterating a staple criticism leveled by his ruling ANC about South Africa’s economy, against the backdrop of widespread allegations of corruption against Zuma and his friends, the Indian-born Gupta brothers.
Zuma was responding to a question about his role as an enemy of “white capital”, during an interview with the ANN7 news network, which was founded by the Guptas. Zuma and the Guptas have denied any wrongdoing.
“I don’t know why there is a debate in fact. Because there is a monopoly capital and in South Africa it is white &#8230; because of our history, it does have a color. It is white,” Zuma, who steps down as head of the ANC in December but can remain head of state until elections due in 2019, said.
“Companies that dominate in the mines, there are not many &#8230; You will find the same companies in charge. That means they are monopolizing the economy and they’re not black,” he said.
The Chamber of Mines in the world’s top platinum producer says that in 2016, 39 percent of the sector was owned by “historically disadvantaged South Africans” &#8211; meaning non-whites.
Zuma said the policy of “radical economic transformation,” which has also seen moves to change the constitution to allow for the expropriation of land for redistribution to landless blacks, was needed to “correct the past.”
“The ANC must follow this policy because if you don‘t, we are going to stay in poverty, in inequality, for a long time.”
The frontrunners to replace Zuma at the helm of the ANC are Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, a trade unionist who amassed a fortune in the world of business, and Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, former chair of the African Union and Zuma’s ex-wife.
Ramaphosa is viewed more favourably by foreign investors, who help cover the country’s deficits. Many of them are unsettled by Dlamini-Zuma’s calls to radically redistribute wealth and her perceived links to her former husband.
In a separate interview on state broadcaster SABC, ANC Secretary General Gwede Mantashe said “state capture is a reality,” referring to allegations that the Guptas and others have undue political influence with access to state resources and contracts under Zuma.
Mantashe is regarded as an ally of Ramaphosa with ties that go back to the 1980s when they were involved in the founding of the National Union of Mineworkers.
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Reporting by Ed Stoddard, Editing by William Maclean
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South Africa’s Zuma again denounces “monopoly” white economic power

South Africa’s scandal-plagued power utility Eskom said on Monday it was not insolvent but was facing serious liquidity issues and would be in “trouble” if the situation persisted.
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Eskom, the sole power supplier in Africa’s most industrialised economy, is also in midst of leadership crisis and has been at the heart of allegations of illegal contracts and undue influence in awarding tenders to the Gupta family, friends of President Jacob Zuma.
Zuma and the Guptas have denied any wrongdoing.
Eskom spokesman Khulu Phasiwe said the firm’s sales growth had been muted while its operating cost were very high and its tariff for the current financial year were low.
“We are not insolvent but we are projecting that if we continue along this trajectory we might be in trouble,” Eskom spokesman Khulu Phasiwe told Reuters.
“We as company we need to sort ourselves out and get our house in order so that when we go out to the market to raise money these things do not become a hindrance,” said Phasiwe.
Online publication Fin24 and EE Publishers on Monday said the utility’s liquidity reserves are expected to fall to 1.2 billion rand ($82.65 million) by the end of November compared to a target of 20 billion rand.
In its annual results for the financial year ended in March the utility reported a score of losses, saying it expected cash and cash equivalents to fall 8.6 billion rand ($598 million) to 20.4 billion rand.
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Reporting by Tanisha Heiberg and Mfuneko Toyana; Editing by James Macharia
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South Africa’s Eskom not insolvent but facing cashflow trouble

Keith Gottschalk | University of the Western Cape
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South Africa’s nuclear build programme seems to be back on the agenda after earlier indications that it was dead. Recent comments by President Jacob Zuma and his new minister of energy David Mahlobo, signal a final push to bag the nuclear deal while Zuma is still in power. In December Zuma’s term as president of the African National Congress will come to an end when the ruling party elects a new leadership. His term as president of the country ends in 2019. The Conversation Africa’s Business and Economy Editor, Sibonelo Radebe, asked Keith Gottschalk to assess the situation.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-290229 size-full" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Nuclear-Pixabay.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="715" />
Is it still possible for the Zuma administration to bag the nuclear energy programme?
The worsening financial plight of the state and its parastatals makes the estimated R1 trillion rand cost of the proposed nuclear build programme increasingly unaffordable. The new Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba said as much. Slow economic activity is squeezing the tax revenue base while social expenditure demands keep rising. This has caused the deficit indicators to rise a cause for serious concern. Its ludicrous for government to insist on adding the humongous nuclear build programme into such dire state of public finances.
It’s also important to consider that government’s atomic ambitions go far beyond the 9 600 MW of extra nuclear power stations. It also wants to rebuild a uranium enrichment plant that dates back to former apartheid-era President PW Botha in the 1980’s. South Africa gave up its nuclear capability in 1989. It was the only country in Africa that had the ability to make a nuclear bomb.
Zuma’s administration wants to regain some of the lost nuclear capacity. It wants to construct a fuel element fabrication factory. It has talked of a nuclear fuel reprocessing plant. All these also bear steep price tags.
What can stop it?
It’s been reported that Mahlobo, the former state security minister turned energy minister, wants to rush through the new process of guiding the nuclear energy plan into fruition. So it’s not going to be easy to stop it.
But South Africa’s nuclear ambitions face stiff opposition from different directions. These include environmentalist critics of nuclear power generation who use a blend of media, street theatre, objections at public consultation processes, and lawfare to try and stop the government’s ambitions.
The SA Faith Community Environmental Initiative group won an important victory earlier this year when the Cape High Court ruled that the government had not followed due process in its nuclear energy plans, and that they had to be halted. This effectively sent government back to square one.
Opposition parties have also been active, using parliamentary channels. They’re also considering taking the legal route to halt the nuclear juggernaut.
And there is palpable opposition within the ANC itself. A number of ANC branches sent motions critical of the costs of nuclear electricity to the ANC’s National Policy Conference. That conference’s report censored out all these motions.
The administration seems to be pulling out all the stops to bag this programme: What’s at stake?
By now, scandal-weary South Africans will react by saying: follow the money. In December 2016 the government dropped the bombshell that the procurement of its nuclear build programme would be taken away from the department of energy and done instead through Eskom.
The reason became clear when months of media headlines revealed that Eskom’s procurement mechanisms had been infiltrated and subverted by the Gupta family conglomerate to become a corporate feeding trough. With close ties to Zuma the Guptas stand accused of operating an elaborate mission to capture state business with a keen eye on the nuclear energy build programme
Every nuclear build contract, from “consulting” to turbines, would be inflated by one-fifth to build in the kickbacks to the corrupt middlemen tenderpreneurs.
Does South Africa need nuclear energy at this stage?
South Africa does not need nuclear energy at any stage.
About a decade ago, the government argued that South Africa’s economic growth was 5% per year every year, and that the resultant increase in electricity demand necessitated building 9 600 MW of new nuclear power stations. Critics pointed out that these figures were inaccurate.
Economic growth has shrunk significantly since then together with future projections of electricity demand. But the government still insist that the 9 600 MW of nuclear power proposition is backed by economic fundamentals. Clearly, this is a political decision uncoupled from economic realities.
On top of this, the most cost-effective generation of electricity would be a blend of imported hydro, imported gas, solar and wind. But these avenues seems to have been blocked by nefarious agendas.
In 2010, the department of energy proudly announced a 5 000 MW solar park to be built outside Upington. It hosted an international investors’ conference to kickstart progress. Since then, nothing has happened.
In 2014 the department proudly put up on the internet a slide show of how the Zuma and the DRC’s President Kabila had signed a treaty guaranteeing South Africa over 10 000 MW of imported hydropower once the Inga dams were constructed.
By December 2016 the department had effectively airbrushed these out of its presentations. Clearly, political power had been applied to compel the department to drop Eskom’s renewable division, and to suck up to its nuclear division. Which political power this was, became exposed this week when Zuma smeared opponents of his nuclear plans as western puppets.
What are global trends saying about nuclear energy?
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/87022/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />The building of new nuclear power stations in developed countries is drastically declining. The UK is alone in signing a contract to build a new one. Nuclear vendors have stepped up their sales campaigns in developing countries to compensate.
This article was originally published on The Conversation.

Op-Ed: Zuma’s allies are once again gung-ho about nuclear. Will they get their way?

Peter Hain | University of the Witwatersrand
Lord Peter Hain tabled a series of allegations in the UK’s House of Lords relating to the possible role of British banks in alleged money laundering and illicit financial transactions centred around South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma and the Gupta family. The Conversation Africa’s Charles Leonard asked him to explain why he took the step. Hain, who was a vocal anti-apartheid activist, was born in South Africa but grew up in the UK. He is a visiting adjunct professor at the University of the Witwatersrand’s Business School.
<div id="attachment_40066" style="width: 1560px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-40066" class="wp-image-40066 size-full" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/jacob_zuma__2009_wef_wikipedia.jpg" alt="S.A's Zuma asks court to postpone Gupta report hearing" width="1550" height="871" />South African President, Jacob Zuma.</div>
In the House of Lords you said the illicit transactions were “part of a flagrant robbery of South African taxpayers”. What do you mean by this?
As I explained in my speech, the Guptas, a family from India that relocated to South African have, with the connivance of the South African Presidency, been getting government contracts and allegedly thereby robbing taxpayers of billions.
On regular visits to South Africa – most recently last month – I have been stunned by the systemic transnational financial network facilitated by the Guptas and the presidential family, the Zumas. If there had been more proactive and genuine cooperation between the multi-jurisdictional law enforcement agencies – and within and between the banks, which have been moving money for the alleged Gupta/Zuma laundering network – the devastation wrought on South Africa could have been significantly reduced. And perhaps, the financial institutions involved would have been better able to mitigate their exposure.
So does it point to South Africans benefiting from the illicit transactions?
I had delivered by hand to Philip Hammond, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, printouts of transactions, and named a British bank concerned. I asked that he again refers these to the UK’s Serious Fraud Office, the National Crime Agency and the Financial Conduct Authority for investigation.
This information allegedly shows illegal transfers of funds from South Africa made by the Gupta family over the last few years from their South African accounts to accounts held in Dubai and Hong Kong. Many of the transactions are legitimate. But many certainly are not.
The illicit transactions were flagged internally in the bank concerned as suspicious. But I am reliably informed that the bank was told by the UK headquarters to ignore it. That is an iniquitous breach of legal banking practice in the UK, which I trust ministers would never countenance. It is also an incitement to money laundering. This has self-evidently occurred in this case, sanctioned by a British bank, as part of the flagrant robbery of South African taxpayers. They have lost millions of pounds and many billions of their local currency, the rand.
Was there a specific event that triggered your request to the Chancellor?
I was asked by senior African National Congress figures and stalwarts to do this. My relationships with them go back more than half a century when we stood shoulder to shoulder fighting apartheid.
As before, my latest information has been supplied by South African whistle-blowers deep inside the system who are disgusted by the corruption at the heart of the state.
What do you hope to achieve?
There are disturbing questions around the complicity – witting or unwitting – of UK global financial institutions in the Gupta/Zuma transnational network. There are also disturbing questions about these institutions’ wilful blindness to the reality that the laundering process often necessitates financial systems with lax regulation and controls. Unless we urgently find ways to leverage our respective capabilities to coordinate and influence action between the law enforcement and banking sectors we cannot win this battle. This coordination needs to happen domestically here in the UK as well as globally.
Unless we use the opportunity to crack down meaningfully, those who want to break the law will always be one step ahead. We must therefore get the international authorities to close down any money laundering networks.
As someone who fought against apartheid, how do you feel about having to take up a campaign against the country’s democratically elected government?
Having been active along with my brave parents in the anti-apartheid struggle it’s painful for me to witness corruption within a monopoly capital elite around Zuma’s family and their close associates the Gupta brothers.
But we should look closer to home, here in the UK. The complicity of our financial institutions in this, as well as the responsibility of law enforcers and regulators in all the concerned jurisdictions, should make government ministers and parliamentarians hang their heads in shame. Just as they were complicit in sustaining apartheid, so today they are complicit in sustaining the corrupt power elite in South Africa which is now betraying the legacy of Nelson Mandela and the anti-apartheid struggle.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/86908/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />Winning the war against financial crime will require coordination, influence, action and accountability between multi-jurisdictional law enforcement agencies. The success of criminal networks also relies on the action or inaction – and cooperation or non-cooperation – of the relevant law enforcement authorities.
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This article was originally published on The Conversation.

Op-Ed: South Africa shows why collaboration is key to tackling global crime networks

South Africa’s scandal-prone President Jacob Zuma told lawmakers on Thursday that he had received no payments from private companies or individuals during his tenure.
<div id="attachment_43091" style="width: 770px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-43091" class="wp-image-43091 size-full" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/9089345491_284ec1af67_o.jpg" alt="" width="760" height="552" />South African President, Jacob Zuma, has denied receiving kickbacks from private companies or individuals.</div>
“I did not receive any payments from private individuals or companies during my tenure as president of the Republic of South Africa, other than those disclosed or reported to the necessary authorities,” he said in an answer to a question in parliament.
Zuma is accused of being influenced by the wealthy Gupta family in making government appointments and awarding contracts by state-owned firms. The Guptas and Zuma deny wrongdoing and say they are victims of a politically motivated witch-hunt.
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Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Writing by James Macharia; Editing by Ed Cropley
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South Africa’s Zuma denies receiving kick-backs

British lawmaker Peter Hain said on Wednesday he has asked finance minister Philip Hammond to refer an unidentified UK bank to regulators for an investigation into possible involvement in alleged money laundering involving South Africa’s Gupta family.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-43048 size-full alignleft" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/zuma_and_guptas.jpg" alt="Guptas respond to Africa Confidential Nenegate allegations" width="466" height="350" />
Hain hand delivered documents to Hammond on Tuesday that he said showed participation of an unidentified British bank in illegal transfers of funds from South Africa made by the Gupta family over the last few years.
The Guptas, a family of Indian-born businessmen in South Africa, are under scrutiny for their close ties to South African President Jacob Zuma and have been accused of unduly influencing the awarding of state tenders. The family has denied any wrongdoing and no charges have been filed.
“(I) named the British bank concerned and asked that he (Hammond) again refer these to the Serious Fraud Office, the National Crimes Agency, and the Financial Conduct Authority for investigation”, Hain said in the House of Lords, according to a video on the British parliament’s website.
The unidentified bank is HSBC Holdings Plc (<a href="http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview/HSBA.L">HSBA.L</a>), the Financial Times reported, citing one person who has seen a letter Hain separately sent to the Treasury and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). (<a href="http://on.ft.com/2gUNP6A">on.ft.com/2gUNP6A</a>)
HSBC spokeswoman Gillian James did not have an immediate comment and referred to Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver’s remark on a post-earnings call on Monday.
“On the enquiries as a result of Lord Hain’s letter to the chancellor, obviously we are responding to those enquiries that have come in from the FCA and also from South African authorities, and there is nothing more I can really add at this point in time,” Gulliver said.
The FCA could not be reached for comment outside regular business hours.
This is not the first time Hain, a Labour politician, has asked for a scrutiny of British lenders’ ties with the Guptas.
Hain asked the finance ministry in October to look into HSBC and Standard Chartered Plc’s (<a href="http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview/STAN.L">STAN.L</a>) possible ties to the Gupta family and Zuma, and the FCA said it was in contact with those lenders.
The politician also wrote to Hammond in September requesting a probe of British banks’ involvement in money-laundering in South Africa.
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Reporting by Ismail Shakil in bengaluru; additional reporting by Parikshit Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Cynthia Osterman.

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Guptas

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Deputy Chief Justice Zondo assures S.Africans of a thorough state capture probe

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Tough talk expected over Eskom in dark Davos winterland

Lord Hain accuses Hogan Lovells of propping up state capture

Canada cancels loan to South Africa’s Gupta family for Bombardier jet purchase

Eskom lawsuit: We have a strong case – Magda Wierzycka

Naspers statement on Multichoice

Eskom says rolling cuts unlikely despite coal supply fall

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South Africa’s Eskom not insolvent but facing cashflow trouble

Op-Ed: Zuma’s allies are once again gung-ho about nuclear. Will they get their way?

Op-Ed: South Africa shows why collaboration is key to tackling global crime networks

South Africa’s Zuma denies receiving kick-backs

Lawmaker calls for probe of UK bank’s ties in South African money laundering case

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Guptas

Explainer: Which Guptas assets are in business rescue?

We don’t need Gupta input to rescue SA businesses – Johan Louis Klopper

South African police raid Gupta home, pressure cranks up on Zuma

Deputy Chief Justice Zondo assures S.Africans of a thorough state capture probe

Why Eskom’s Matshela Koko won’t go quietly

Tough talk expected over Eskom in dark Davos winterland

Lord Hain accuses Hogan Lovells of propping up state capture

Canada cancels loan to South Africa’s Gupta family for Bombardier jet purchase

Eskom lawsuit: We have a strong case – Magda Wierzycka

Naspers statement on Multichoice

Eskom says rolling cuts unlikely despite coal supply fall

South Africa’s Zuma again denounces “monopoly” white economic power

South Africa’s Eskom not insolvent but facing cashflow trouble

Op-Ed: Zuma’s allies are once again gung-ho about nuclear. Will they get their way?

Op-Ed: South Africa shows why collaboration is key to tackling global crime networks

South Africa’s Zuma denies receiving kick-backs

Lawmaker calls for probe of UK bank’s ties in South African money laundering case

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Advertise With Us

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