Enough Gupta frolics

Your report on the “Nene letter” (Gupta minions wrote fake Nene letter to top Chinese banker, June 27) is the latest in an avalanche of disgusting revelations about corrupt machinations around the Guptas and state capture. Is this going to be our lurid entertainment for the next months, or are we going to see action against the parties?

The previous public protector recommended a judicial inquiry, which President Jacob Zuma didn’t want. Now he does support it, which indicates that a judicial inquiry would be yet another delaying tactic, or lead to a toothless result (see Farlam and Seriti). And given her sinister and destructive conduct, we cannot have faith in the new public protector.

There is now enough prima facie evidence in the public domain for a thorough criminal investigation. But it would be naïve to expect this from those whose job it is to protect the public from theft. They are incompetent, weak, compromised or, in some cases, maybe corrupt themselves. But it can and must be done.

Appoint a top investigator of impeccable integrity. Give him or her the power and the resources to enrol a team of the best forensic lawyers, as well as experts in criminal law and money laundering.

This is what Cyril Ramaphosa and Parliament should be asking for. At the very least, the team should look at every large transaction involving a state-owned enterprise over the past 10 years. They should also investigate the actions of people like Malusi Gigaba, who has been a primary facilitator of the Gupta raid on public resources and is now pretending to be the minister of finance in an expensive suit.

Billions have been stolen from the public and we must demand justice. If the ANC — or what is left of it after the Zuma tsunami — cannot deliver this, it will never be trusted again.

G Olivier

Brixton