It certainly shows a network of people, grouped around key individuals with demonstrable connections to the Saxonwold family, who dominate the board of Eskom and, to a lesser extent, Transnet.<\/p>\n
The information we disclose is not proof of \u201cstate capture\u201d, but it will sharpen the concerns of those worried about the undue influence of the Gupta family, adding bit by bit to what we know and what we suspect.<\/p>\n
We trust the information will be followed up by the two probes so far announced: the public protector\u2019s investigation into whether President Jacob Zuma breached the Executive Members\u2019 Ethics Act through his relationship with the Gupta family, and the ANC\u2019s own internal inquiry, led by secretary general Gwede Mantashe.<\/p>\n
The ANC national executive committee\u2019s decision to allow Mantashe to conduct a probe was an important victory for the faction of the party that is attempting to curb the excesses of Zuma and his allies, including the Guptas.<\/p>\n
For, although the party cannot admit it openly, it is Zuma who has really been the locus and driving force of state capture.<\/p>\n
Our expos\u00e9 will hopefully also encourage more people with inside information to come forward to join Deputy Finance Minister Mcebisi Jonas, former ANC MP Vytjie Mentor and ex-government communications chief Themba Maseko.<\/p>\n
There appears to be a queue forming. Former energy minister Ben Martins has indicated he will brief Mantashe and, as the former point man on Zuma\u2019s nuclear ambitions, he will no doubt have a lot to say.<\/p>\n
And the country\u2019s top retired intelligence and military figures have added their voices to the call for an investigation.<\/p>\n
As we report today<\/a>, three former top spies and the ex-South African National Defence Force chief, Siphiwe Nyanda, are among 25 Umkhonto weSizwe stalwarts calling for an independent commission of inquiry to investigate \u201call claims of undue influence, especially by the Gupta family, on the ANC and on the state\u201d.<\/p>\n Nyanda said: \u201cThere are many people that we think should come forward and give evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n The voices of those, such as Nyanda, whose ANC credentials cannot be questioned, are vital.<\/p>\n That\u2019s because the Guptas and the Zuma faction in the party have mounted a sophisticated spin campaign, aimed at convincing their supporters that questions about the Guptas are driven by \u201cwhite capital\u201d that fears being displaced.<\/p>\n White business barons such as Johann Rupert can and do exert influence on the government, but there is simply no equivalence with the picture of state capture that is beginning to emerge around Zuma and his cronies.<\/p>\n * Got a tip-off for us about this story? Click here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The voices of people such as former SANDF chief Siphiwe Nyanda, whose ANC credentials cannot be questioned, are vital, writes Sam Sole.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":22590,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4360","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4360"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4360\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![](\"https:\/\/amabhungane.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/94x94.jpg\")
<\/a>The M&G<\/em> Centre for Investigative Journalism (amaBhungane) produced this story. All views are ours. See www.amabhungane.co.za <\/a> for our stories, activities and funding sources.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"