State Capture inquiry implicates Zuma and Duduzane in scandal

The immigrant Gupta family “controlled everything” in South Africa, including former President Jacob Zuma.

This is part of the testimony delivered on Friday by former Deputy Finance Minister Mcebisi Jonas in the inquiry into State Capture, the system of corruption and patronage developed under Zuma’s watch.

Jonas said he was tricked into a meeting at the Guptas’ compound in Johannesburg where he was taken by Zuma’s son, Duduzane, in September 2015.

There, in the presence of Zuma Jr and another party, one of the Gupta brothers said they controlled “everything” in South Africa, that he (Jonas) has been monitored and that the Guptas knew what he was doing, that they had information on him which was damaging but that the president liked him.

BRIBERY

The brothers added that they could do what they liked, could appoint ministers and other people they wanted to key positions and that they wanted him to take over the Finance ministry as it had been identified as a block to their ambition to earn more than the $500 million they had already schemed from the South African state.

They wanted him in place in order to carve out another $160 million from the public fiscus.

He was offered $50,000 to take the job. When he failed to show interest, a further inducement of an on-the-spot payment of $5,000 in cash was made “if he had a bag to put it in”.

Jonas said he turned down the offer but was threatened with death if he ever spoke about the meeting. He said he was offended and alarmed and that his loyalty was to the constitution.

He said he had not talked to anyone about it except the then Finance minister, but only after ensuring they were not bugged.

PUPPET PRESIDENT

Despite his silence, the story subsequently came out in the media and Jonas confirmed its major elements in a statement.

He told the commission that one of the pressures at that time was the insistence of Zuma that his handshake with Russian President Vladimir Putin to install a fleet of nuclear power stations in South Africa had to go ahead, regardless of assessments that the project was far expensive and that the power produced would not be required due to over-capacity.

It was made clear to him that the Guptas had access to the security agencies, Jonas said.

He added that the Guptas boasted that Zuma did whatever they told him to. This included appointing whomever they wanted as minister.

Despite the testimony revealing little not already known through his statements or media reports, the testament before Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo was striking.

NUCLEAR POWER DEAL

Among notables present was former Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, now Minister for State Owned Enterprises, who was dismissed by the former president.

That sacking, Jonas said, was a direct result of the Finance Ministry’s refusal to sign off on the estimated $80 billion nuclear power deal, which Zuma was desperate to push through before his term ended.

Although Jonas has yet to go into details, his testimony to the inquiry so far supports previous reporting, including by the NMG, that the Russian nuclear deal — subsequently ruled as unlawful by the constitutional court and ruled out as even a remote possibility by the Cyril Ramaphosa administration — was meant to be the culmination point of state capture, whereby leading players could expect huge kickbacks.

Jonas also said the State Security Agency, then under control of a known Zuma agent, wanted to “kill” the inquiry into state capture triggered by the revelations of the bribe offer made to him to take over the Finance ministry and facilitate the Guptas’ plans to deepen their inroads into public coffers.

TESTIMONY

Jonas said the Guptas told him: “You must understand we control everything. The Hawks (the country’s top investigative agency), the National Prosecuting Agency and national intelligence. We control Zuma. Number One (Zuma) does what we tell him.”

Damning as it is, Jonas’ testimony is just the start to what is expected to be a two-year-long investigation by the inquiry into all elements of state capture, how exactly it worked and who was involved – apart from already known parties such the Zumas, the Guptas and others.

His testimony was due to resume on Friday afternoon with yet more stunning revelations.

None of the four elder Gupta brothers are in South Africa and none are expected to return to testify at the commission.