A report in the Sunday Times has alleged that the politically connected Gupta family wanted to “capture” the Treasury by appointing a new head, and sacking as many as four employees who apposed the nuclear procurement programme.<\/p>\n
The Sunday Times reported that influential family – who have strong business links with president Jacob Zuma – allegedly met with deputy minister of finance, Mcebisi Jonas, to offer him then-finance minister Nhlanhla Nene’s job.<\/p>\n
The paper cited highly placed sources for its information.<\/p>\n
It said that Jonas met with the Guptas at a Sandton hotel on November, while he was also reportedly offered the post several days later, by ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte.<\/p>\n
Duarte denied the allegation, Treasury refused to comment, and the Guptas through an attorney said: “As we have said countless times, our primary focus is on business, not politics. To be absolutely clear: there was no meeting at all, let alone any inferences or cash offers.”<\/p>\n
Deputy minister Jonas turned the offers down, after it was alleged that it came with the following conditions:<\/p>\n
It is alleged that he was given a list of people to get rid of, including director-general Fuzile Lungisa, Ismail Momoniat, Andrew Donaldson and Kenneth Brown –\u00a0 the fiercest critics of the nuclear procurement programme.<\/p>\n
Firing them, sources said, would have allowed the family to “capture” the Treasury, as the four vacancies would have been filled by bureaucrats approved by the Guptas.<\/p>\n
Under Nene, the Treasury had opposed the construction of a proposed six to eight nuclear power stations, saying the project was unaffordable.<\/p>\n
The Guptas are reportedly trying to benefit from the project, which experts believe could cost R1 trillion, through their company Shiva Uranium.<\/p>\n
Last week, the Financial Times also reported that the Guptas met with Jonas to ask him if he wanted to become minister.<\/p>\n
The paper reported that Jonas turned down the offer, leading to president Zuma sacking then finance minister, Nhlanhla Nene, and replacing him with back-bencher, Des van Rooyen.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere have been an extraordinary number of allegations around the Gupta family in recent weeks, several of which have involved the finance ministry,\u201d a Gupta family spokesman told the FT. \u201cTo be absolutely clear: there was no meeting at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Treasury and Mr Jonas declined to comment, neither denying nor confirming the existence of the meeting, the paper said.<\/p>\n
The full article can be found in the Sunday Times 13 March edition.<\/em><\/p>\n \u2018We are business people, we have nothing to do with politics\u2019: Guptas<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Zuma\u2019s son gifted shares in Gupta owned company: report<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n We aren\u2019t going anywhere: Guptas<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Eskom has \u201cnothing to hide\u201d in Gupta coal supply probe<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nMore on politics in SA<\/h3>\n