The report states that the Guptas exerted great influence on Mr. Zuma as he plundered billions from state enterprises before fleeing the country.
Former South African President Jacob Zuma, along with the Gupta brothers of Indian origin who had “considerable” influence over him, laundered enormous amounts of public money, including using millions of rands to enrich the now defunct . new era The newspaper, according to an investigation report on corruption during Mr. Zuma’s tenure from 2009 to 2018.
President Cyril Ramaphosa received the first of three parts of the report of the South African Commission of Inquiry into the state’s occupation on Tuesday from the commission’s chairman, Acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo.
The report has been made public, however, the government said it would be able to comment on it only after studying the three parts. The rest will be handed over to the President by the end of February.
The first part is about the secret family new Age Newspapers, the destruction of South African Airways (SAA) by Mr. Zuma’s adviser Dudu Maiani, the capture of the South African Revenue Service (SARS) and the corruption of the state procurement system through the tender system.
new era (TNA) The newspaper was started by three Gupta brothers – Ajay, Atul and Rajesh (Tony) – who had migrated from Saharanpur city in Uttar Pradesh to South Africa and are now believed to be in self-exile in Dubai as officials want to face his extradition. corruption charges.
The report states that the Guptas exerted great influence on Mr. Zuma as he plundered billions from state enterprises before fleeing the country.
“Evidence before the Commission paints a picture of a calculated strategy by Gupta to appropriate public funds from state-owned enterprises,” it said.
Key to their efforts was to have facilitators within state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and government departments, such as the Government Communications Information Service (GCIS), who would ensure that entities rand millions to TNAs, while no clear Is. Value for institutions or government departments, the report said.
“The impact they (Gupta brothers) made on former President Zuma was substantial. They managed to ensure that a well performing and principled public servant was fired at lightning speed when he refused to accede to their demands of diverting lakhs of rupees of public money to enrich his media business. Refused,” it added.
This was a reference to the resistance the Guptas faced when they tried to force GCIS chief Themba Maseko to divert 600 million rand to the TNA. Mr Maseko was later reportedly sacked on Zuma’s instructions.
Noting that Mr. Zuma replaced Mr. Maseko as a facilitator with Mazvanele Manni, the report said that during Mr. Mani’s tenure as Director-General of GCIS, “millions of rands were spent on TNA”. in circumstances where there was no credible readership. Information nor certified circulation figures for the newspaper”.
“It is inconceivable that this would have been allowed to happen if Mr Masenko had remained at the helm of GCIS,” it said.
The commission also found that senior officials, including some board members in the SoEs, were involved in irregular transfers of large amounts of money to TNAs through contracts, which were misrepresented to watchdogs such as Parliament and the Public Protector of the value of the deals. was adjusted for. agreement as something different from who they really were.
The report noted that the contracts concluded by the SOE were often clearly irregular and by definition worthless because their value could not be established.
TNA investigations show that the occupation of the state flourished in the SOE, despite the fact that the necessary laws were in place to stop it. The Commission said that the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) clearly and implicitly made every TNA contract illegal.
“State occupation flourished because the people entrusted with power and authority in the SOE simply violated its terms. One way to prevent it in the future is to ensure that those who have neglected their legal obligations are treated as their be held responsible for the conduct.”
The commission recommended that the role of Brian Molefe – former chairman of national rail transport provider Transnet and Colin Matzila and former chairman of national electricity supplier Eskom – be investigated by the National Prosecuting Authority in view of allegations of misinterpretation of contracts with TNA . Fraud and/or PFMA violation.
The commission also recommended that law enforcement agencies should investigate a possible corruption case against Tony Gupta based on the testimony of Vuisele Kona, former acting chairman of the state-run South African Airways Board.
Kona told the commission that Tony had initially offered her R100,000 in October 2012 and later R500,000. After refusing to accept the bribe, Mr. Kona was fired from his job.
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