When Oppenheimer proxies fawn over a Gupta

BY April 13 last year the Gupta family were in the news. As banks withdrew their support for the family’s accounts, and as Julius Malema issued threats to drive them out of South Africa, a curious thing occurred.

The family did leave, for their R400-million home in Dubai, and attended a usefully timed and garish family wedding in Turkey. A few days later, on April 13, a Gupta business jet was being loaded at a terminal at OR Tambo International Airport far from the prying eyes of the public.

We are reminded, because of what happened, that the Oppenheimer family, who once epitomised white monopoly capital here, were quietly trying to create an exclusive new terminal at ORT. The Fireblade terminal would be for Very Very Important Persons, people so famous, rich and delicate that they could not possibly be expected to enter the country through the rougher channels you and I have to use.

The idea behind Fireblade Aviation’s terminal, leased from the state-owned arms company, Denel, was to have the Department of Home Affairs second officials to the terminal to clear departures and arrivals and to clear customs too. A last little island, perhaps, of exclusivity and civility amid the disintegration of standards in the new South Africa.

I’m an Oppenheimer admirer. The family are deeply invested in this country and civically generous, and bequeathed to black empowerment after 1994 a vast array of assets. Some have been destroyed, some not. And, of course, the Oppenheimers became rich here and made many others rich too. They created lasting value here.

But the events of April 13 2016 may have been a tipping point. The family, physically, are still in South Africa. Nicky Oppenheimer, Harry’s son, is still here, though I’d be surprised if one in a thousand South Africans would recognise him. Mary Slack, Harry’s daughter, is also still here. But their children, the family’s future, are not. They live international lives. Sometimes here, sometimes not.

Last April 13 a Gupta plane was being loaded for a flight to Dubai at the Fireblade terminal. Luggage scanners picked up what looked like a box of stones in a suitcase. Gupta security refused to allow Fireblade to open the box. An argument ensued and the box was removed. But the Oppenheimers know what a box of rough diamonds looks like inside a scanner. They’ve been in the game a long time.

The future of the Fireblade terminal now looks bleak. It is said the Guptas have pressured the government into not granting the terminal immigration and customs status. They deny this. But while none of that behaviour would be surprising, it is not necessarily the point.

The point is two points. First, what, by April 13, did the Oppenheimers, Nicky in particular, not know about the Guptas? Can we presume he still reads the newspapers his family used to own? If so, why was Fireblade still doing business with the Guptas? Why were Oppenheimer employees fawning over a Gupta brother at the terminal and diligently helping him leave the country so discreetly? Is money really that corrosive of values?

Second, why are more than 20 affidavits from Fireblade staff about that night sitting untouched and unopened at Werksmans Attorneys in Johannesburg? Nicky has allowed into the public domain only the most anodyne detail. But he potentially holds the key to information that could help our country rid itself of the scourge of state capture if it were only made public.

OK, three points. The third is this: I’m glad the Fireblade terminal isn't getting what it wants. The optics are appalling. More exclusivity, more exclusion, more separation isn’t what South Africa needs now. Sure, Brad Pitt or some sultan might want to slip into South Africa for a weekend at Leopard Creek. But they can make their own arrangements.

The Oppenheimers, of all people, should be standing with all South Africans now. Are you still in or are you out? It’s a simple question. We are under attack from a ghastly conspiracy inside the government. When the rich among us try to create a reality all of their own, they risk forfeiting our respect. I’m glad the Fireblade people made it a little harder for those diamonds to leave the country. But, be sure, they’re long gone. What’s left is the thought of decent wealth doing business with the Guptas. It makes me want to weep.

❛ Why are more than 20 affidavits about that night sitting unopened?