[Bloomberg] South Africa’s richest man Johann Rupert said "radical economic transformation," the policy championed by the country’s President Jacob Zuma to reduce racial inequality, is no more than theft."Radical economic transformation is just a code word for theft," Rupert said on the sidelines of Richemont’s annual general meeting in Geneva on Wednesday. "That’s what’s happening there. They’re raiding the state’s coffers. And it’s public knowledge."
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South Africa’s 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. And a study released in March by a team of academics concluded that Zuma, the Guptas and their allies had orchestrated "a silent coup," securing control over key positions in the state, enabling them to allegedly steal billions of rand. Zuma and the Guptas deny wrongdoing.
A trove of leaked emails dubbed the ’Gupta Leaks’ have formed the basis for a raft of stories by South African media that have alleged corruption linked to the Guptas and government officials.
Zuma’s spokesman Bongani Ngqulunga said he was in a meeting when called for comment.
Bell Pottinger LLP, the U.K. 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 U.K.’s PR trade body last week. 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.
"They were hired to deflect attention from the public anger against what’s happening to the state’s finances," said Rupert. "That was their role."