End of Guptas in sight at last

FOR a long time the notorious Gupta brothers have acted with impunity and treated our country, our sovereignty and our citizens with disdain.

They have shown so much contempt for this country that the revelations of their dirty dealings are enough to make for a best-selling fictional novel.

Sadly though, almost everything that has been said about the Guptas is true.

They have managed to disrespect every law of this country and break every rule in the book – thanks to the protection they receive from their puppet, President Jacob Zuma. Through his association with the Guptas, Zuma has abused his office and rendered himself a useful tool in the Guptas’ state capture scheme.

On Monday, News24 reported that the Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) and the Hawks had finally set their sights on the Guptas.

The unit, which falls under the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), was expected to serve a summons on the Guptas and their associates yesterday “to preserve assets of theirs worth in the region of R1.6-billion”.

That is a huge amount and is telling of the grand scale of Gupta corruption.

The preservation order stems from the AFU’s belief that the Gupta assets were obtained from proceeds of crime.

Should the brothers be successfully prosecuted then the frozen assets will be forfeited to the state. After all, almost everything that they have was stolen from the people of South Africa.

Part of the dodgy contracts under scrutiny include a failed R30-million dairy farm project in Vrede, Free State which the provincial government gave to a Gupta-linked company with no prior experience in agriculture. The money was channelled by the Guptas into their overseas accounts and used to pay for the lavish wedding of their niece at Sun City. Such blatant and shameless corruption – stealing from poor farmers of the Free State.

It is clear that the net is closing in on Zuma and his close allies.

Obviously some senior members of the ANC are also implicated in the Gupta web of theft and corruption – not least of all our very own head of state Zuma.

While some may see this as reflecting negatively on the ANC, the governing party should view it in a positive light.

It will prove that the ANC under Cyril Ramaphosa is serious about dealing with corruption and also signal a change in attitude by the party leadership.

Also encouraging is news that the Hawks have obtained a warrant of arrest for one of the Gupta brothers and that they are merely waiting for the NPA to sign the warrants.

While NPA head Shaun Abrahams may have finally acted to to stave off further criticism, for his failure to prosecute the Guptas, he remains unfit for the position.

If it is true that he waited until after the ANC national conference to act, then he should be removed as the country’s top prosecutor. The National Director of Public Prosecutions should act without fear or favour and should be a person of good repute.

That said, we should all keep a close eye on these developments. The Guptas deserve everything that is coming their way.