He is almost at the end of his task. His work, one would be tempted to say. At the end of April, South African judge Raymond Zondo presented President Cyril Ramaphosa with the fourth and penultimate part of his report on the system of corruption that governed South Africa for almost a decade. Overwhelming for the previous head of state, Jacob Zuma, he tells how a president who became the puppet of a sibling of businessmen allowed them to carry out the heist of the century: rob his own country for a loot which is figure in billions of dollars.
On the run in Dubai, Ajay, Atul and Rajesh, aka “Tony”, Gupta, three brothers of Indian origin, ruled South Africa from the early 2010s until the forced resignation of Jacob Zuma in 2018. » [Jacob] Zuma has diligently opened the doors of public enterprises to the Guptas inviting them to help themselves to the money and assets of the people of South Africa”writes Judge Zondo.
At the head of the commission of inquiry into what South Africa calls the « state capture »Raymond Zondo heard, for four years, more than three hundred witnesses tell the story of the “nine wasted years” of Jacob Zuma’s tenure. Railway, aviation, prison services, etc. : the first sections of the commission’s report showed how the siblings took control of whole sections of the South African economy before methodically siphoning them off.
In this new opus, released on April 29, Judge Zondo details in particular the role « central » of Jacob Zuma in the Gupta takeover of the executive branch. Charged with cleaning up the recalcitrant, “President Zuma was able to fire someone who was excellent at their job if that person was not prepared to collaborate with the Guptas”continues Raymond Zondo.
« Find Money »
Nhlanhla Nene, Minister of Finance from May 2014 to December 2015, knows something about this. At the time, this respected senior official cared about the state coffers. But balancing the budget is not on the Gupta’s agenda. Nor does it fit into Jacob Zuma’s conception of public finances. « In other countries of the world, finance ministers don’t tell the president that there is no more money, their job is to find the money »the ex-head of state was annoyed one day with the director of the public treasury.
At the forefront of Mr. Nene’s concerns is the catastrophic situation of the national airline, South African Airways. Under a board of directors acquired from the Guptas, the company’s losses doubled between 2012 and 2014. The company’s financial instability threatens the integrity of public finances. Mr. Nene wants a new board of directors to restore the credibility of the company which can no longer borrow.
At the head of the board of directors, Dudu Myeni is a protege of the Guptas and Jacob Zuma. Mr. Nene warned: it’s him or her. A few weeks later, it is he who is thanked. The departure of the respected Nhlanhla Nene is causing panic in the financial markets. In forty-eight hours, the rand collapsed and South African bonds lost 10% of their value. An inexperienced deputy, Des van Rooyen, replaces the beloved minister. The day before his appointment, he made a detour to the Guptas. On the day of his arrival at the ministry, Mr. van Rooyen is flanked by two « advisers » some of whom are surprised at the authority they seem to have over the new minister. The Director of the Public Treasury also says that he was warned by an executive of the African National Congress (ANC), the ruling party, of the parachuting of a « minister of the Gupta ».
It will go away after three days. Veteran of the public service, Pravin Gordhan is appointed urgently to reassure the markets. Already passed by the post, he intends to stop the financial mismanagement. Trouble doesn’t take long to fall on him. In 2016, he was prosecuted as part of an investigation into a supposed « rogue unit » within the tax administration when he headed it. The press denounces a cabal. The folder is empty. This time, the manipulation is pschitt.
Police at orders
The Guptas had calculated everything. “You have to understand that we control everything and the old man will do whatever he is told to do”, once threatened one of the brothers during a visit by the Deputy Minister of Finance to their residence. Police, intelligence services, tax authorities… In addition to placing their pawns at the top of the state, the Guptas have placed at their service the administrations liable to seek lice for them. The only thing left for the brothers and their dependents, thus protected, is to milk the State by capturing ever more public orders.
How much money has this mafia system stolen from South Africa? In 2021, the co-founder of the British NGO Shadow World Investigations, Paul Holden, estimated the sum of fraudulent contracts allocated to companies linked to the Guptas at more than 3.5 billion dollars (3.3 billion euros). The actual cost goes well beyond that. “If we look, for example, at what happened in Prasa [la compagnie publique de transport ferroviaire]this may not be the same scale as the diversions at Eskom [société d’électricité publique]but it has had an impact on millions of people who have lost their jobs because the network no longer works”underlines Hennie van Vuuren, director of OpenSecrets, a South African organization for the fight against corruption.
And after ? Judge Zondo has until June 15 to submit the final part of his report. He has already recommended the opening of proceedings against more than 130 people, including several former ministers. Elected on the promise of a « new dawn » and often criticized since for the softness of his fight against corruption, Cyril Ramaphosa is under pressure. It is that he must deal with the factional struggles within his party, part of which has long benefited from this system that some do not want to see disappear.
Interpol Red Notices
In early March, the president sent a strong signal by appointing Judge Zondo to head the Constitutional Court, making him the country’s first magistrate. « But he can’t change the system on his owntempers Mr. van Vuuren, of OpenSecrets. We need an NPA [National Prosecuting Authority (bureau du procureur)] vigorous and determined to go all the way. For the moment, this is not the case. »
On the run in Dubai since the explosion of the scandal in 2016, the Guptas have been the subject of Interpol red notices. Jacob Zuma was sentenced to fifteen months in prison for refusing to testify before the Zondo commission in July 2021. He has since been released on medical parole in controversial circumstances. At 80, already prosecuted for corruption in an arms sale case, he has made a specialty of escaping justice.