How the gupta brothers hijacked south africa using bribes instead. Dec 22, 2018 the guptas are now in selfimposed exile in dubai, evading arrest in south africa, where they stand at the center of a scandal that has already brought down the nations president and exposed. His series of exposes on a multibillionrand contract for new locomotives at the passenger rail agency of south africa prasa earned him several accolades, including south africas prestigious taco kuiper award for investigative journalism. They established businesses in south africa with their most notable business being a. Jacob zuma is currently on trial in a separate corruption case. Mar 22, 2018 the tale of how the gupta family wormed its way into the heart of south africa and then vanished. This book should form part of the library of all who care to know how the south african government was looted and pillaged by these uncouth people. Gupta plane grounded in south africa after request from. A south african explores the madness in his country, his tribe and himself, this book was a bestseller in south africa and elsewhere when it came out in 1990.
The brothers ajay, atul and rajesh gupta arrived in south africa from india when apartheid ended in the early 1990s and started building a business empire. The 2017 transparency international corruption perceptions index assigned south africa an index of 43 out of 100, ranking south africa 71 out of 180 countries. They have played a prominent role in his presidency and their relationship has been at. Modern south africa was built with the best of intentions and a slate of admirable. Stories from a south african childhood by trevor noah, cry, the beloved country by alan paton, the power of one. The guptas and their links to south africa s jacob zuma. Jacob zuma, the guptas and the selling of south africa. The gupta family owns a business empire spanning computer equipment sahara computers and sahara systems, media and mining and in 2016 atul gupta became the 7th wealthiest person in south africa. For all official information and updates regarding covid19, visit the south african department of healths website at za. The guptas and their links to south africas jacob zuma bbc. The combination of president mbeki and finance minister manual proved to be the most successful economic combination in south africa s young history. What was the impact of state capture in south africa. How jacob zuma sold south africa to the guptas one family has gained extraordinary influence over a country and its politics.
A spokesperson for the african national congress defended the gupta family, stressing their history of investment in south africa. Aug 23, 2017 the guptas became a household name in south africa in 20 after it emerged that theyd used a military base near the capital, pretoria, to land a chartered jet bringing guests from india to a. Who are the family at the center of south africas latest. Gupta and his two brothers, who left south africa early this year when president jacob zuma was forced out of power, have no plans to go back and give their side of the story at least. Saul davids favourite books on south african history books.
The guptas rose to national infamy when a commercial airliner packed with guests for a family wedding was allowed to land at air force base waterkloof in 20, sparking an onslaught of public outrage. Mar 03, 2019 for the first time in history, black citizens were able to live in areas formerly reserved for whites. The book documents the influence peddling, rent seeking, insider trading, and corruption that helped turn the guptas business into one of south. The gupta family, originating from india, arrived in south africa in 1993. Jun 20, 2016 the controversial gupta family are back in south africa after an extended time away from the country and their relationship with president jacob zuma continues, though it is strained. Feb 15, 2018 the indianborn gupta family has a huge influence on south africa s former president jacob zuma. The name of the gupta family is suddenly on everyones lips in south africa. He bought a home in bedfordview and the family slowly joined him as he grew the business empire which he began by. South africa, afrikaans suidafrika, officially republic of south africa, republic 2015 est. The indianborn gupta family has been accused of corrupt dealings with zuma, allegedly benefiting from favourable government contracts and mining deals. Nov 30, 2017 jacob zuma, the guptas and the selling of south africa.
As president jacob zuma faced a further vote of noconfidence, his close association with the gupta business family came. In gupta brothers rise and fall, the tale of a sullied a. Packenhams exhaustive research in numerous archives in britain and south africa, not to mention interviews with more than 50 survivors. Jul 20, 2017 the family has always denied wrongdoing, but the evidence against it includes a claim by the former deputy finance minister mcebisi jonas that the guptas offered him the top job in the ministry, which he declined. Brothers ajay, atul and rajesh also known as tony gupta, all in their 40s, relocated to south africa from indias northern state of uttar pradesh in saharanpur in 1993, just as white minority rule was ending and the country was opening up to the rest of the world. In a 2007 tv interview, he denied that the state had been captured. The guptas complained when south africa s largest banks closed their accounts earlier this year. Dec 17, 2015 the reality is that for some time now, south africa has been under the management of a criminal syndicate masquerading as genuine business people, headquartered in saxonwold. Its also a good moment to release a book about a topic south africans are keenly interested in. How the gupta brothers hijacked south africa using bribes.
Gupta saga shows corporate governance working in sa fin24. It borders on the atlantic ocean in the west, on namibia in the northwest, on botswana and zimbabwe in the north, on mozambique and swaziland in the northeast, and on the indian ocean in the east and south. The gupta family is a wealthy indianborn family, with business interests in south africa, whose most notable members are the brothers ajay, atul, rajesh tony gupta as well as atul guptas nephews varun, and usbased ashish and amol. But there has been little scrutiny of institutions such as the bank of baroda, hsbc, and other banks that helped them, keeping transaction fees for themselves. In an update on the state of its relationships with south african banks, gupta owned oakbay resources says that all major banks in the country have dropped them.
They provide meticulous evidence that zuma and his associates, most notably the gupta family and its business empire, captured state institutions for personal gain. The guptas trace their roots in south africa to 1993, when atul gupta, one of the three brothers, first visited the country. What myburghs book, titled the republic of gupta a story of state. A report in south africa s sunday times newspaper which said the guptas once demanded to be given diplomatic passports suggests they too believed they had political clout. Zuma, the guptas, and the sale of south africa bbc news.
From the solar system to the world economy to educational games, fact monster has the info kids are seeking. Cape town the positive spin from the gupta saga is that corporate governance in south africa is working as it indeed should and that is worth a great deal for the future. The gupta family is a wealthy indianborn family, with business interests in south africa, whose. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. It was a glorious day for its builders, the gupta brothers, the sons of a local. Corruption in south africa includes the private use of public resources, bribery, and improper favoritism. Pieterlouis myburgh is an awardwinning investigative journalist. Novelist karan mahajan travels to india and south africa to. The south african media had already linked him to the guptas, a family led by three brothers who arrived in south africa a quartercentury ago. How bank of barodas misadventures dragged it into south africa s political crisis a scandal involving bank of barodas south africa operations, a cabal of businessmen of indian origin, and.
For the first time in history, black citizens were able to live in areas formerly. This is according to rhodes university professor matthew lester, a member of the davis tax committee, who reacted to financial services companies breaking ties with the. South africa history, southern african history, books. The guptas had set up a coal business, tegeta, and were angling to buy a coal mine, owned by switzerlands glencore, that supplied eskom. By last year, the familys reputation was so stained that south africas four major banks closed accounts connected to it. All about the guptas, a family at the heart of south africas zuma crisis guptas, known to be friends of president jacob zuma, have been accused of wielding influence in south africa by bagging. Our site is coppa and kidsafecertified, so you can rest assured its a safe place for kids to grow and explore. Coming amid what was already a steady flow of new revelations about the guptas from south africas. The guptas wonderful story of love and survival is a page by page delight to read and remember. We are in south africa on a five week visit and have spent time in johannesburg, soweto, alexandra, the apartheid museum, constitution court, sterk fontein, mala mala, cape town, district 6 and we have seen and learned so much. The guptas follow a long line of business dynasties in south africa, such as the diamondmining oppenheimers or luxury goods magnates the ruperts, according to ebrahim fakir, an independent south. The allegations eventually brought the zuma presidency to a premature end last year and prompted the guptas to leave south africa.
A bestseller in south africa and successful abroad, the book has been reissued with additional material. How bank of barodas misadventures dragged it into south. South africa s parliamentary portfolio committee on public enterprises has investigated the influence of the guptas on the countrys stateowned entities, including transnet. The guptas and their links to south africas jacob zuma. In the book, which is a collection of essays, myburgh has done great work in articulating his a lot of people. The guptas rose to national infamy when a commercial airliner packed with.
They operated inconspicuously until 20, when stories about how their private wedding guests were allowed to land at an air force base revealed their deep political connections. Kpmg south africa woes continue after nedbank bails on. How mckinsey lost its way in south africa the new york times. He decided to return to open a shoe shop in johannesburg. The guptas alleged hold on president jacob zuma has driven much of south african society into open revolt. Zuma resigned as president last month under pressure from his african national congress party after a. Barely a day after eff leader julius malema demanded that the guptas leave south africa with immediate effect because of their apparently strong influence over president jacob zuma and for benefiting unduly off government contracts a report has appeared saying that the wealthy family. The guptas became a household name in south africa in 20 after it emerged that theyd used a military base near the capital, pretoria, to land a chartered jet bringing guests from india to a. Eskom supplies electricity to all of south africa and is the worlds seventhlargest utility in terms of generating capacity. Mar 08, 2016 the guptas trace their roots in south africa to 1993, when atul gupta, one of the three brothers, first visited the country. Having left south africa, the guptas are now living in dubai. From here the guptas moved on to capture south african cricket and in. A story of state capture is a 2017 book by south african investigative journalist pieterlouis myburgh. Kpmg south africa woes continue after nedbank bails on embattled auditors more losses for a firm that was once one of the biggest in south africa.
The year you finally read a book about climate change. Oct 10, 2004 saul davids favourite books on south african history. The corruption scandal has renewed scrutiny about zumas ties with ajay, atul and rajesh gupta, three brothers from the northern indian state of uttar pradesh. The court gave the guptas 15 days to hand over the jet. The guptas dismantle their south african empire bloomberg. This ranking represents a downward direction change with a drop of two points down from 45 2016 cpi.
The controversial gupta family are back in south africa after an extended time away from the country and their relationship with president jacob zuma continues, though it is strained. Untouchable it was last month that the south african polices elite hawks unit shocked the nation by arriving at the guptas lavish compound in. End of the line for south africas gupta family the national. South africas economic history south african market insights. Kpmgs south african branch has come under fire and suffered a severe reputational hit after becoming caught up in a growing corruption scandal surrounding one of the countrys most powerful families, the guptas kpmg is accused of facilitating the gupta family in tax evasion and corruption. For the first time in history, black citizens were able to live in areas formerly reserved for whites. The gupta entrance into the media space through the new age, ann7, and sabc is also an attempt to colonise the minds of all south africans. South africa and the fable of the missing guptas bbc news. The guptas are widely famous in south africa but also deeply mysterious. After years of relative obscurity in south africa the gupta family first started appearing in local news reports in 2009. During president thabo mbekis tenure as leader of south africa, south africa experienced an average gdp growth rate of 3. The book documents the influence peddling, rent seeking, insider trading, and corruption that helped turn the guptas business into one of south africas largest corporate empires.
Family sources told city press the guptas shareholdings were likely to be put up for sale but were now in the safekeeping of local executives. A few days later the eff released a list of 25 reasons why they are against the family, again accusing them of receiving preferential treatment in business dealings with government as well as government preference and collusion with gupta owned media interests. List of books and articles about south african history. Ajay, atol and rajesh gupta came to south africa from saharanpur, india. Knives are out for jacob zuma as south africa s guptagate grows. They have played a prominent role in his presidency and their relationship has been at the centre. What myburghs book, titled the republic of gupta a story of state capture published by penguin does is set out to capture, so to speak, in around 300 pages, a comprehensive narrative about the extent and the reach of the rot and the great cost. South africa in the 1980s also provided logistical and other covert support to resistencia nacional mocambicana rebels, in neighbouring mozambique fighting the frelimorun government during the mozambique civil war, and it launched crossborder raids into lesotho, swaziland and botswana, killing or capturing a number of south african exiles.
Seizing on a chance encounter with a south african official in india decades. The guptas intimate role in steering the nation helped set off an electoral revolt that has already cost the a. In a rare appearance last year, ajay gupta, a stout. South africa s scandalhit guptas raided the raid led to two arrests out of which one was from the gupta family said the state broadcaster. Here is a breakdown of the guptas history, according to madonselas report. A lesson on south african history from president zuma.
End of the line for south africa s gupta family multipronged attack from within the anc to get rid of zuma and actions initiated by the criminal justice system to nail the business family. When the guptas arrived in south africa, in 1993, they encountered a country in a state of hopeful transition. While the firm denies any wrongdoing, it admits to missing several red flags in relation to. This most promising work the guptas, along with the gupta name, which has actually earned a special place in the history of india, will continue a most notable legacy. Parliament, 19 february 2015 president jacob zuma took the opportunity to clarify his, now infamous, statement about jan van riebeeck to give the the country a lesson on south african history. This comprehensive onevolume history of south africa goes beyond the achievement of democracy to look at the problems facing the new society in the period since nelson mandela ended his term as south africas first black president. Knives are out for jacob zuma as south africas guptagate.
Discover the best south african history in best sellers. The family lobbied unsuccessfully for finance minister pravin. They also damaged the reputations of various illustrious firms that had done business with the guptas. Discover librarianselected research resources on south african history from the questia online library, including fulltext online books, academic journals, magazines, newspapers and more.
692 1569 1492 925 1417 22 504 694 1016 906 1600 1209 1001 728 721 939 1525 686 1432 691 1197 215 511 1026 1344 78 847 1183 136 9 256 1173 56 1396