‘Guptas on run like rats’

DA and EFF react to family saying they are selling off all their SA businesses

OPPOSITION parties reacted strongly yesterday to plans by the Guptas to sell off their South African assets by year-end. The DA likened the Gupta family to “rats abandoning a sinking ship”. The family‚ which has close ties with President Jacob Zuma‚ has been accused of attempts to capture the state.

The DA rubbished “as plain dishonest” suggestions by the Guptas that their decision to exit their shareholdings in all their businesses in South Africa was being taken to advance the interest of the country.

Party finance spokesman David Maynier said the fact was that members of the Gupta family‚ and the businesses controlled by them‚ were the subject of multiple cases. These included: ý An investigation by the Hawks into alleged corruption;

ý An investigation by the Financial Intelligence Centre into alleged money laundering;

ý An investigation by the SA Reserve Bank relating to the termination of business relationships with certain banks; and

ý Numerous investigations by the Treasury into alleged corruption relating to their business dealings with state-owned companies including Denel‚ Eskom and Transnet.

Maynier said that things had evidently reached a “tipping point” and the Gupta family had decided that it was in their best interests to abandon ship in South Africa.

“We will not back down and will do everything to ensure that the various investigations being conducted into the Gupta family’s businesses are concluded and that the results of those investigations are made public‚” Maynier said.

“The fact is that in the end the Guptas are like rats abandoning a sinking ship in South Africa.”

The EFF urged the Guptas to “start packing their last bags” and leave for good.

The party also warned that it would “not rest until the last root and trace of the Guptas has been cleared from our history”.

It welcomed “with caution” reports that the Guptas intended selling off their businesses to the highest bidder before the end of this year‚ saying it was long overdue.

“This corrupt relationship has . . . caused untold divisions in the ruling party which harbours many elements who have also been captured,” the EFF said.

“They appointed ministers and ordered public servants from pillar to post‚ causing untold havoc in the public sector.”

The EFF said it would also be watching the sales of the Guptas’ businesses to see who they were going to.

“The country is now aware that Gupta-connected ANC ministers hold offshore accounts. So it is clear that the web of corruption by the Guptas and their puppets is too intricate for the country to simply believe that they will sell it all off,” the EFF said.

“However‚ they must be warned that we will do everything in our power to expose and block all their attempts to continue running this country into the quagmire of corruption and daylight kleptocracy.” – TMG Digital