South Africa\u2019s richest man Johann Rupert said \u201cradical economic transformation,\u201d the policy championed by the country\u2019s President Jacob Zuma to reduce racial inequality, is no more than theft.<\/p>\n
\u201cRadical economic transformation is just a code word for theft,\u201d Rupert said on the sidelines of Richemont\u2019s annual general meeting in Geneva on Wednesday. \u201cThat\u2019s what\u2019s happening there. They\u2019re raiding the state\u2019s coffers. And it\u2019s public knowledge.\u201d<\/p>\n
South Africa\u2019s former graft ombudsman alleged in a November report that Zuma allowed members of the wealthy Gupta family, who are in business with his son, to influence cabinet appointments and the award of state contracts.<\/p>\n
And a study released in March by a team of academics concluded that Zuma, the Guptas and their allies had orchestrated \u201ca silent coup,\u201d securing control over key positions in the state, enabling them to allegedly steal billions of rand. Zuma and the Guptas deny wrongdoing.<\/p>\n
A trove of leaked emails dubbed the \u2018Gupta Leaks\u2019 have formed the basis for a raft of stories by South African media that have alleged corruption linked to the Guptas and government officials.<\/p>\n
Zuma\u2019s spokesman Bongani Ngqulunga said he was in a meeting when called for comment.<\/p>\n
Bell Pottinger, the UK public-relations firm founded by an adviser to Margaret Thatcher lost clients and staff over its controversial work for the Gupta family in South Africa and was expelled from the UK.s PR trade body last week.<\/p>\n
It was slammed for stoking racial tensions by mounting a campaign targeting so-called white monopoly capital, and filed for administration on Tuesday. Its targets included Rupert, who has a net worth of $8.2 billion.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were hired to deflect attention from the public anger against what\u2019s happening to the state\u2019s finances,\u201d said Rupert. \u201cThat was their role.\u201d<\/p>\n
Final Term<\/strong><\/p>\n Bell Pottinger was formerly the public relations company for Richemont, the maker of Cartier jewelry and IWC Schaffhausen timepieces.<\/p>\n Zuma\u2019s second and final term as president is due to end in 2019, but his political clout is waning as he prepares to relinquish the leadership of the ANC in December and, depending on who replaces him, he could be forced to step down early.<\/p>\n The party\u2019s new leader will also be its presidential candidate in the next elections.<\/p>\n Deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa, a former labor union leader who helped draft the nation\u2019s first democratic constitution and made a fortune in business, is favored by many investors.<\/p>\n His main rival is Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the former chairwoman of the African Union Commission and Zuma\u2019s ex-wife.<\/p>\n On the campaign trail, Ramaphosa, 64, has emphasized the need for inclusive economic growth, while Dlamini-Zuma, 68, has echoed Zuma\u2019s calls for \u201cradical economic transformation\u201d to address racially based income disparities that date back to white-minority rule.<\/p>\n Zuma and his allies in government have proposed expropriating white-owned farmland without compensation and boosting the proportion of mining assets that must by law be owned by black South Africans.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen all those leaks came out, all those emails, you can\u2019t deny stuff,\u201d said Rupert. \u201cNobody\u2019s ever denied the veracity of the Gupta leaks.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n