#guptagate

[wally-b-feed]

Chir Guptag, 2024

[sketchbookssince1999]

Seeing as it's topical, here are some quicksketches from the parliamentary debate on the Waterkloof Airforce Base being used for the Gupta wedding guests back in #2013. Best entertainment! If you haven't gone to watch debates in parliament you really should, it's free. #sketchbook #southafricaparliament #gupta #jacobzuma #guptagate #quicksketches #urbansketch #drawing #anc #democraticalliance #eff #byefelicia #balekambete #mmusi #politics

[eagle-eyez]

South Africa has deployed 25,000 troops to assist police in quelling the week-long riots and violence sparked by the imprisonment of former president Jacob Zuma, which led to the deaths of over 70 people. This, as the Indian government has raised concerns about the safety of the Indian community in South Africa.

The violence erupted after Zuma began serving a 15-month sentence for contempt of court for refusing to comply with a court order to testify at a State-backed inquiry investigating allegations of corruption while he was president from 2009 to 2018.

What is the ground situation in South Africa?

The protests in Gauteng and Kwa-Zulu-Natal escalated into looting in township areas, although it has not spread to South Africa’s seven other provinces where police are on alert.

According to official figures, 72 people have died and more than 1,200 people have been arrested, while South Africa's consumer goods regulatory body estimates that more than 800 shops have been plundered.

Stores and warehouses in Johannesburg and KwaZulu-Natal provinces have been ransacked, devastating supply chains on which food, fuel and medicines depend in Africa's most industrialised economy.

The unrest, however, continued in KwaZulu-Natal province where several factories and warehouses were smoldering Thursday after being targeted in arson attacks. There were renewed attacks Thursday on shopping centers in KwaZulu-Natal, which is Zuma's home province.

Most soldiers deployed since 1994

The South African National Defence Force has also called up all of its reserve force of 12,000 troops, in the largest deployment of soldiers since the end of white minority rule in 1994 and 10 times more than the deployment on Monday. Trucks, armoured personnel carriers and helicopters are being used to transport soldiers to trouble spots in the Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces.

The armed patrols appear to have succeeded in bringing stability to Gauteng, South Africa's most populous province which includes Johannesburg, the country's largest city. Army troops stood guard at the large Maponya mall in Soweto, which was closed.

Volunteer groups cleaned up shattered glass and debris from shops that had been stormed and looted in Johannesburg's Soweto and Alexandra townships.

What will be the immediate repercussions of this violence?

President Cyril Ramaphosa told leaders of political parties that parts of the country "may soon be running short of basic provisions" following disruption to supply chains.

"The next big crisis will be the threat to food security in KZN, along with the supply of medication and fuel," said John Steenhuisen, head of the Opposition Democratic Alliance. "Protecting these supply chains must be a priority of the deployment."

The violence has hit South Africa’s vaccination rollout and also disrupted access to essential healthcare services. There were also reports of clinics being looted and problems with the delivery of oxygen to hospitals treating coronavirus patients, according to The Guardian.

What is Zuma’s link with the Indian community in South Africa?

Of the corruption charges against Zuma, the most significant involves the Gupta family, which hails from Uttar Pradesh but moved to South Africa in 1993. The family owns coal mines, computer manufacturing business, newspapers and a media outlet. Interpol had issued a red corner notice against the three brothers over a 2016 graft report, according to Hindustan Times.

A chartered plane, used to transport guests for the wedding of one of the relatives of the Gupta family in 2013, landed at the Waterkloof Air Base in Pretoria, used only for receiving heads of states and diplomatic delegates. The incident invited an immediate outcry and local media dubbed it as 'Guptagate’.

How has the Indian community in South Africa been affected?

Clashes have erupted in Durban between black South Africans and counterparts of Indian heritage, according to Agence France Presse. On Wednesday night, Police Minister Bheki Cele visited Phoenix, a predominantly Indian community where 15 people have been killed in clashes. The hashtag #PhoenixMassacre was trending on Thursday.

"The Indian nation here in KZN is the second largest outside of India," the new Zulu king, Misizulu Zulu, said in an appeal to his community on Wednesday. "We have lived in peace for many years alongside them. Therefore I ask: Let us be understanding and thoughtful towards each other."

India on Wednesday also reached out to Ramaphosa’s government, which assured it that the attacks were not racially motivated.

A ship brought the 342 Indians to South Africa in November 1860, but today, it is home to the largest population of Indian descent in the continent, writer and fourth generation South African Indian Zainab Priya Dala told Quartz.

With inputs from agencies

from Firstpost World Latest News https://ift.tt/3z4MNLm

[olaluwe]

Jacob Zuma of South Africa SOUTH African President, Jacob Zuma, faces a vote of no confidence tabled at the Parliament by his own party within days if he does not resign his office before the end of Wednesday. Ruling party, African National Congress (ANC), which the president belongs to was reported to support an opposition motion of no confidence in President Jacob Zuma in Parliament scheduled for today (Thursday) if the president does not resign beforehand. This was announced by the ANC’s chief whip in Parliament, Jackson Mthembu, at a news conference in Parliament on Wednesday. He said the opposition party, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), had refused to withdraw a motion of no confidence it had already tabled, and the ANC was procedurally unable to override the EFF motion with its own. The ruling party would, therefore, debate the opposition motion, and move amendments to it from the floor of Parliament. Mthembu said that if Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng was available, the ANC might move to elect party president Cyril Ramaphosa as the country’s president later on Thursday or on Friday. The South African Constitution provides that Parliament elects the country’s president. Later on Wednesday, the Speaker of Parliament, Baleka Mbete, announced that she had scheduled the debate on the no-confidence motion for 2 pm on Thursday. According to South African newspaper allAfrica, in another development, Zuma complained in a live television interview with the public broadcaster that the national executive had not given him reasons for wanting him removed. He repeated previous statements that he had done nothing wrong. By not resigning he was not defying the party, he said. He simply disagreed with the decision, which was unfair. “I’m being victimised,” he added. His removal was “a very serious matter,” he said. “I think we are being plunged into a crisis that I am sure my comrades, my leaders, will regret because some people may not like this, may feel there is something wrong… “The leadership of the ANC, if it’s not careful, might actually cause a bigger problem than we think.” Police on Wednesday raided the luxury home of his friends, the Gupta brothers, as part of an anti-corruption investigation. How did Zuma get here? On October 13, 2017, South African Supreme Court upholds reinstating 783 corruption charges against Zuma before he became President in 2009, according to Reuters. Before election According to DW news agency, in the run-up to the 2009 presidential election in South Africa, Jacob Zuma was simultaneously battling allegations of rape and corruption. He has been in and out of court ever since. In June 2005, Zuma was charged with corruption for allegedly accepting bribes from French arms company Thint Holdings. The 783 charges of money-laundering and racketeering stemmed from a controversial 30 billion rand ($2 billion) arms deal signed in 1999, according to Reuters. In December 2005, he was charged with raping an HIV-positive family friend. In April 2006 Zuma was acquitted of rape but the fact he told the court he had showered in order to avoid catching HIV would continue to haunt him throughout his presidency. In September 2006, his corruption trial was struck from the court list when the prosecution asked for yet another delay to gather evidence. The case was re-opened in November 2007. Zuma on the way to power The African National Congress (ANC) elected Zuma in December 2007 as party leader over former President Thabo Mbeki in a bitter contest, thus making him the favourite to become South Africa’s next president after elections in 2009. Zuma filed papers to have his prosecution declared invalid and unconstitutional in June 2008. He revealed that if the application failed he would make a second application for a permanent stay of prosecution. February 2010, Zuma admitted to fathering a child out of wedlock with the daughter of the head of South Africa’s World Cup organising committee. He also filed a $700,000 defamation lawsuit in December 2010 over a 2008 political cartoon which portrayed him raping a female figure symbolising justice. In preparation for 2012 election, the Supreme Court of Appeal ruled in March 2012, that the Democratic Alliance (the largest opposition party) could challenge a previous court’s decision to drop corruption charges against Zuma. However, Zuma was re-elected head of the ANC in December 2012. Zuma’s image as “the people’s president” started to fade following the upgrading of his residence in the rural area of Nkandla in northern KwaZulu-Natal, using state funds amounting to 246 million Rand.(€ 16.7million, $20.5 million) in December 2013. An official inquiry cleared him of any wrongdoing. In December same year, during a memorial ceremony for South Africa’s first black president, Nelson Mandela, ANC supporters openly heckled and booed Zuma in front of foreign dignitaries, including US President Barack Obama. Zuma was actually re-elected as president of South Africa for a second term in May 2014. Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s final report on security upgrades to the Nkandla compound, entitled “Secure in Comfort” was published in March 2014, despite Zuma’s attempts to have it blocked through court proceedings. In a surprise move, Zuma fired Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene in December 2015 and replaced him with the unknown backbencher David van Rooyen. Only four days later, he had to reverse his strategy due to public outcry and re-appointed former Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, whom he then fired in 2017. Gordhan was replaced by Zuma’s loyalist Malusi Gigabai. The South Africa government in Pretoria allowed visiting Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to leave the country in June 2015 despite an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court in The Hague. The decision by South Africa not to arrest Bashir sparked international condemnation which was met with a threat by Zuma’s government to withdraw its membership of the ICC. South Africa’s highest court ruled in March 2016 that Zuma breached his oath of office by using government money to upgrade his private home in Nkandla in 2013. Zuma apologised to South Africans for the “frustration and confusion” caused by the scandal. The constitutional court ruled he had to pay back 7.8 million Rand – a portion of the tax money spent on installing non-security features at Nkandla. In July 2017 a new scandal that quickly came to be known as “Guptagate” came to light. Allegations of high-level corruption under Zuma’s rule were fuelled by a huge leak of confidential emails showing that the Indian-born Gupta family had used their influence to appoint cabinet ministers and benefit from government contracts. Zuma survived a no-confidence motion in South Africa’s parliament in August 2017. For the first time, the vote was conducted by secret ballot. He survived by just 21 votes, a result that indicates that at least 26 ANC members had voted in favour of the motion. South African Parliamentarians prepare for a no-confidence vote against President Zuma in August 2017 but was never held that year. In October 2017, the supreme court ruled that 18 counts of corruption from the arms deal should be reinstated. After which Zuma was replaced by Vice President Cyril Ramaphosa as ANC leader in December 2017. Jacob Zuma announced his immediate resignation on Wednesday, February 14, 2018, after the ruling ANC party threatened to eject him from office via a parliamentary vote of no confidence on Thursday (February 15, 2018). According to AFP, Scandal-tainted Zuma said in a 30-minute national television address that he had “come to the decision to resign as president of the republic with immediate effect”. “I have served the people of South Africa to the best of my ability. I am forever grateful that they trusted me with the highest office in the land,” he said. By tribuneonlineng

[dailysunnewspk-blog]

Africa: 'Guptagate' Hits Businesses Across Africa, China, India

Africa: ‘Guptagate’ Hits Businesses Across Africa, China, India

Photo: TI

(file photo).

By John Allen

The corruption scandal engulfing South Africa’s state-owned companies has triggered a ban by one of the world’s leading software companies on the payment of commissions on contracts with government agencies in all but five African countries.

The ban was announced on…

[rickilanders]

Six political scandals President Zuma has survived

Six political scandals President Zuma has survived

Six political scandals President Zuma has survived Source: Al-Jazeera From ‘Guptagate’ to a rape acquittal, a list of political scandals that have tarnished the president’s career. Six political scandals President Zuma has survived

[africanglobe]

AFRICANGLOBE – The African National Congress’s (ANC) show of parliamentary support for President Jacob Zuma against an opposition no-confidence motion was badly damaged when 35 of the party’s MPs failed to vote after a raucous parliamentary debate on 10 November.

http://www.africanglobe.net/africa/jacob-zuma-wounded-confidence-vote-parliamentary-ruckus/

[andrewgerm]

A Must-watch This Freedom Day: Zupta Documentary 'How To Steal A Country'

A Must-watch This Freedom Day: Zupta Documentary ‘How To Steal A Country’

The Guptagate documentary How To Steal A Country is now streaming first on Showmax, just in time for the Freedom Day long weekend, with early reviews calling it “An excellent documentary, one of the best ever made in our country” (Leon van Nierop in Rapport); “Nothing short of remarkable… the definitive example of speaking truth to power so that this can never be allowed to happen again” (John…

[politicoscope]

Politicoscope: Politics Top News In Politics

SOUTH AFRICA: GuptaGate: Police Probe Duduzane Zuma

David Maynier laid corruption charges against Duduzane Zuma and two members of the Gupta family, Atul Gupta and Ajay Gupta.

Share or Comment on: "SOUTH AFRICA: GuptaGate: Police Probe Duduzane Zuma": http://www.politicoscope.com/2016/03/28/south-africa-guptagate-police-probe-duduzane-zuma/

[maxhovah]

Shout Out to Mme Thuli

To Thuli’s credit it must be said she is doing a brilliant job and somehow managed to p’off her ANC seniors in the process, she is the worst kinda of deployee the ANC could have asked for. My concern is she has been put under attack in parliament from all quarters including the DA. One hopes the ugly scenes shown on TV do not deter her from executing her duties with the level of excellence and professionalism we have come to expect from her. Nkandlagate, Guptagate, Arms Deal Enquiry, Marikana Commission; we truly are a crisis riddled nation and our President is to blame for most of our woes, that is the quality of leadership that we have elected. We really have to be ashamed of ourselves since it is us the nation that elect these morally bankrupt leaders into power.

[worldoutline-blog]

The rich, the famous and the arrogant: Guptagate

South African billionaire family comes under speculation after landing private jet at Waterkloof…

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[matthewsavides]

Prez JZ breaks his silence on #Guptagate

Finally, President Jacob Zuma has said something about the Gupta birthday celebration scandal. Essentially, he says the use of his name and of the names of Cabinet members needs to be condemned.

Here’s the full statement, as released by the Office of the…

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[networkafrica-blog]

Guptagate: Zuma in the line of party fire

JOHANNESBURG: A controversial lavish Indian wedding in South Africa has created a rift between President Jacob Zuma and the ruling African National Congress, according to a media report on Monday. Zuma and ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe …

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[africanglobe]

AFRICANGLOBE – There are growing signs the tide has indeed begun to turn against South African President Jacob Zuma and his supporters. The politics of patronage is no longer working as it used to when Zuma’s defenders could be rewarded for their efforts with promotion, tenders, or a lucrative revolving door to corporate directorships.

http://www.africanglobe.net/africa/south-africas-ruling-party-unravels-jacob-zuma-struggles/

[politicoscope]

Politicoscope: Politics Top News In Politics

SOUTH AFRICA: Jacob Zuma Entangled In Guptagate

ANC is now faced with one of the biggest decisions in 104-year history – whether to put up with the Zuma-Gupta contagion or can purge itself of the poison.

Share or Comment on: "SOUTH AFRICA: Jacob Zuma Entangled In Guptagate": http://www.politicoscope.com/2016/03/21/south-africa-jacob-zuma-entangled-in-guptagate/