How "independant" is South Africa? Who are the Guptas?

Most of last week the South African media had an outcry over the Gupta tycoons from India, and their relationship with high-ranking ANC members. The Guptas, it seemed, were given royal diplomatic treatment without any legal grounds to do so.

Suspicions of Chinese and Indian cash being thrown about to cosy up to the "elite" interests in the ruling ANC have long done been reported by the media.

So who are the Guptas?
This link explains much.
The beginner's guide to the Guptas:
mg.co.za...

The scandal began last week Tuesday when 217 guests to a private Gupta wedding landed at the Waterkloof Air Force Base (also allegedly a CIA airport according to some conspiracy theory):

More than 200 guests of the Gupta family arrived in South Africa on Tuesday last week to attend the lavish, four-day wedding of Vega Gupta and Aakash Jahajgarhia at the Sun City resort.

www.timeslive.co.za...

Nobody knows why a civilian plane carrying wedding guests was allowed to land there.

Not even the government apparently knows why it landed there, and are denying every press release.

They are promising major investigations, while some minions have been suspended, and fines (ha ha, probably not comparable to the bribes and kickbacks) have been issued.
Yet the explanations and excuses are rather thin and unconvincing, if not downright embarrassing.
Not only did over 200 land there, but they went through no custom checks or procedures whatsoever.
They were allegedly accompanied from the airport by mysterious "blue light" brigades.
www.dailymaverick.co.za...

Nobody bothered the guests at the lavish wedding, although they apologized for a bit of a disturbance afterwards, and clearly what the Guptas wanted the Guptas got.

While some see it as a storm in a tea-cup (in the light of more serious atrocities), others view it as blatant government corruption and the pawning of our democracy to the highest cash-flows.

News footage from the Gupta wedding, with some ANC stalwarts attending:



I wonder if fellow Saffers know if Shabir Shaik was there?

others view it as blatant government corruption and the pawning of our democracy to the highest cash-flows.

Any capitalistic economy will sell itself to the highest bidder.

Despite all that things took an even more grievous turn when the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) claimed that its members complained that the Gupta guests only wanted white staff!

This comes after painstaking attempts to portray racism and ethnic tensions in SA as blacks (including Indians and Chinese) vs. a white minority, or else to deflect it as "violent xenophobia" or economic and political factionalism.
Yeah, like Gandhi or Srila Prabhupada were never racist against black people (I won't link it here, but anyone can Google their racist statements).
Or vice-versa, the isiZulu song against Indians titled "Amandiya".

I think this really turned the attitude of the ANC from intransigent defense to apologetic.

That is just almost unforgivable ... unless you have cash and print the ANC newspaper.

www.fin24.com...
lifeissavage.com...

E-News: Are we a banana republic and for sale to the highest bidder?

Justice Malala discusses the issues with guests:



The Mail&Gaurdian Hangout on The Gupta Wedding.

reply to post by halfoldman

Despite all that things took an even more grievous turn when the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) claimed that its members complained that the Gupta guests only wanted white staff!

Not surprising as Indian culture worships whiteness, which is weird because the overwhelming majority of them are dark skinned.

If they don't want to deal with Africans they should stay out of Africa.

reply to post by WaterBottle


Yeah true, although it's an allegation and perhaps it didn't represent all of the guests.

I certainly wouldn't want to inflame race relations, or misrepresent them in SA, but it was a headline hanging on every urban lamp-post in SA last week.

Of course racism exists everywhere, and one cannot finger-point this group or that tension, but to an extent it's not very surprising.

In general however the incident brought together dissenting voices in the ANC and the minority opposition parties as never before in a solidarity that seems to be becoming less racial.

The ANC shills also played the usual race-card, but suffice to say in light of the allegations from Cosatu it didn't fly.

Now it seems that "Guptagate" has become a hot potato.

The Auditor-General who first agreed to investigate has now declined, and the case has been shifted to the Public Protector.

Meanwhile minor officials have been suspended, and nine police officers must explain why they shouldn't be suspended (whatever that means, probably a a few weeks of paid leave).

Yeah right - as if the highest politicians of the ANC don't know exactly what went on!

So anybody can now just land at a military air base, and nobody knows why?
That's even more shocking than brazenly admitting it all.

The lying and denial is just ridiculous.

ewn.co.za...

I would like to reply but I fear I would break the T&C of ATS
Corruption , nepotism & bribery is rife in SA now .

reply to post by halfoldman


Don't trust a Gupta, their whole family and extended family are rotten parasites.

Well Julius Malema has given his opinion:

a reply to: WaterBottle

Not surprising as Indian culture worships whiteness,....

As did their revered hero Gandhi.

Gandhi spent 21 years in South Africa and was a supporter of Apartheid.
His only grievance was that he thought the colonists viewed Indians as no better than the local 'kaffirs' whom he thought were inferior to both Whites and Asians.

India has long had strong links with South Africa due to the large number of South Africans of Indian descent.

More Gupta news:

www.rdm.co.za...

South Africa is under the management of Guptas | Daily ...

Who Are the Guptas and Why Does Malema Want Them Out

www.news24.com...

www.fin24.com...

www.news24.com...