South Africa on a slippery slope says new MTN chairman

Jonas, who served as Zuma’s deputy finance minister from 2014 to 2016 before being fired, alleged three years ago that members of the Gupta family offered him a bribe and the finance minister’s post in exchange for furthering their business interests – a proposal he rejected.

The Guptas were friends with Zuma and have been linked to numerous cases of corruption at state companies. They and Zuma deny wrongdoing.

Jonas 59, who will join telecommunications company MTN Group Ltd as chairman in December, said he still has hope that the country can get back on track.

“My theory is that we are not going to get a major blowout, like you have in Venezuela,” he said.

“We need to bring back growth and refocus ourselves as a country. We need to go back and find each other as a nation.”

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