I have been
reading some of the news articles and a particular article that has grabbed the
attention of many people is the report on the Gupta family leaving South
Africa. The past few years the Gupta family have made the headlines and their association with President Jacob Zuma
has caused scandalous reactions.
It will
seem that comments indicate that almost all of the people are happy to have
them leave. Although some of the comments
refer to the Gupta family having a fear of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF)
feisty threats. Julius Malema publicly banned
the Gupta’s from attended any of the EFF meetings. There are ongoing
investigations of contracts between the Gupta empire and Eskom, and other
business related matters.
SOURCE:
Johannesburg - Just two weeks after their company got Competition Tribunal
authority to buy a former Glencore coal mine, the Gupta brothers are reportedly
leaving South Africa.This is according to African Confidential, which is reporting that three Gupta brothers - Ajay, Atul and Rajesh - are in the process of moving to Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates.
African Confidential, citing sources in the ruling ANC, says
the move is because many of the family's businesses are under increased
scrutiny, especially contracts with government
or state-owned enterprises.
The relationship between the Guptas and President Jacob Zuma
has been lambasted by opposition parties - notably the Economic Freedom
Fighters - and cries of “Zupta must fall”
are resonating through SA.
Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan has also become involved amid
concerns that the family is too close to the government. Just days before
February’s budget speech, Gordhan - according to the Sunday Times - pulled the
plug on the Gupta-owned New Age newspaper's post-budget breakfast briefing.
Towards the end of last year, Tegeta
Exploration & Resources, a company owned by Oakbay Investments and
Mabengela Investments, purchased the former Glencore mine, Optimum, which had
been placed into bankruptcy protection
for R2.15 billion.
Tegeta is 64-percent owned by Mabengela
Investments, which in turn is 45-percent held by Duduzane Zuma, Bloomberg
reports, citing people familiar with the matter. The Gupta family’s stake in
the venture is held through Oakbay
Investments.
The BBC reports Bongi Ngema-Zuma, one of the president's
wives, works for the Guptas and Duduzile Zuma, his daughter, was a director at
Sahara Computers in 2008, but has since
resigned.
According to Bloomberg, Tegeta
wants to find more opportunities after being cleared by regulators to acquire
Glencore’s Optimum coal complex. “Tegeta
is an ambitious business and on the lookout for new opportunities to grow the business,” it quotes an email from Oakbay
Investments as saying. “It is our view that any person, or company, should be
free to compete fairly for any business.”
The company is now also acquiring the rights to export eight
million metric tons of coal through the Richard’s Bay Coal Terminal, Bloomberg
reports.
According to the BBC, brothers Ajay, Atul and Rajesh - who it
says is known as Tony - Gupta moved to SA when they were in their 40s. They
moved, says the UK-based site, from India's northern state of Uttar Pradesh in
Saharanpur in 1993.
After moving to SA, the Gupta family started Sahara
Computers, a company completely separate
to the Indian conglomerate of the same name, which reportedly employs 10 000
people and turns over about R200 million.
The Gupta family also owns uranium assets through its listed
Oakbay company. Oakbay Resources & Energy owns 74 percent of Shiva Uranium
and Atul is its chairman, with Varun as CEO, according to its website. Shiva
Uranium, which owns the Dominion and Rietkuil mines, was previously a unit of
Uranium One, formerly run by Neal Froneman, Sibanye Gold’s current CEO.
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