8 million documented pages and 75 000 written pages make up the state capture enquiry so far. No wonder it has taken a few years to get this far.
For those of you that don't know South Africa has had a judiciary court digging into the State Capture from the previous President Jacob Zuma. The first report was released on the 4th January and today the second with one more report to follow.
State Capture is when individuals conspire with others in power (Government) in order to influence financial and political gain. The laws of the country are removed which are there to protect against this very thing through bribery and corruption. State owned enterprises are run by puppets who are dictated to by those in control. You remain in charge as long as you tow the lie and agree to their demands. For this you will be well rewarded and may even be promoted into another industry where someone was fired for not towing the line.
State Capture is about weakening the law enforcement allowing those involved to go about their crooked business unchecked. The more they capture the more influence they wield through corporations having a say in legislative practices. This is all for private gain through making new policies legal with the main focus on monetary value.
We have known that politics is a dirty business and many politicians can be bought off for a license or a policy change that has ulterior motives. That is childs play to what has happened here if you realise the size of the companies and organisations that were sold out and captured.
First on the list is the Ministers of Finance, Public Enterprise and Natural Resources. Tax collecting agency (SARS), SABC (TV and Radio), South African Airways, Transnet (Rail), Eskom (electricity) and Denel (armscor).
The greed spreads wider as private enterprise also plays a part so Accounting firm KPMG, German IT company SAP, management consultants McKinsey and Bain have all been part of this whole process accepting bribes and turning the other way.
McKinsey in particular was caught out in the Locomotive deal it had arranged with Transnet. The purchase price went from R36 billion to R54 billion with the excuse it was down to forex adjustments. They agreed to pay back R870 million which was part of their management fee (bribe).
Richards bay coal terminals were shut down to put the financial squeeze on Glencore which worked as they sold.
The Gupta brothers who were the ones who ran the show for Zuma fled to Dubai when their bank accounts were closed. They used state capture to fleece the country dry. One Australian mining firm (Glencore) lost their coal mine and state contract in a dubious and smart way. The Guptas know having the rail and ports in their pockets closed the export facility at Richards Bay for renovation purposes. The coal was being mined and sent to the port as normal but due to the port coal facility being closed there were no exports going on and one huge stock pile was happening. Glencore negotiated a way out the deal by selling their mine for peanuts leaving the coal behind at the port as a Gupta bonus. This is how legislation was being manipulated to benefit the few.
The second report published today mentions a few names with recommendation for their trial. The ex minister of Finance Gigaba along with the head of Rail and Eskom (same person) Brian Molefe have been recommended to pay R200 million/20 years in prison or both by the State Capture report.
I am hoping to see some action finally as this has gone on too long for no consequences. Gupta brothers are still swanning it up in Dubai even though an extradition deal has been signed with the UAE. Maybe they were waiting for this report first and then taking them all in at once. Wishful thinking maybe as this will implicate the former President if this goes to trial along with his sons. His former son wants to run for Presidency and being seriously corrupt and implicated should be behind bars as having him in power will only lead to the same results as his dad.