EDITORIAL: The story of a brazen hijack
The story raises questions about the fate of the central villains: Brian Molefe and Eskom chairman Ben Ngubane
Investigative journalism unit amaBhungane, in an excellent piece of work, has painstakingly assembled the story of the purchase of Optimum mine by Gupta-owned Tegeta, which it aptly describes as "SA’s most audacious business hijacking". The details of how the hijacking took place are drawn from dozens of investigations of the Guptas’ special relationship with Eskom, several court cases as well as information contained in the public protector’s State of Capture report. Adding the cherry on the top is the startling admission by former mineral resources minister Ngoako Ramatlhodi that he was fired by President Jacob Zuma for refusing to co-operate with the elaborate scam. At the centre of Ramatlhodi’s accusations of corruption stand the two people Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown has only this week again reaffirmed are the right people to run Eskom: Brian Molefe and chairman Ben Ngubane. Ramatlhodi says Ngubane requested to see him in October 2015. At a meeting that Molefe also ...
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