Solly Mapaila, the second deputy general secretary of the SA Communist party, proposed a judicial investigation related to the Gupta's family business. The Guptas were alleged of exertion of disproportionate business influence to the government including its officials.
The Gupta family, known to be a close friend of President Jacob Zuma and one of his sons, Duduzane, is considered as one of the shareholders of one of the companies owned by the Gupta's. Mapaila said that there should be no family that will have any control of government or any independent institutions. He added that it is wrong that an elected movement will be compromised by influential people outside the government, as per City Press.
Other ANC leaders like Supra Mahumapelo of the Norh West Premier supported the Guptas and said that they should be commended for creating jobs. As per The South African, Denis Becket said that the negative news around the Guptas is only based on speculations. He added that there is very little fact surrounding all the bad press the family has been getting.
Mapaila on other hand supported the call for job creation, claiming saving jobs will always be important and that it is what they are fighting for, but it doesn't justify any violations made by these job-creating businesses to defy the law.
He added that on the economic front, the big companies are not really helping. They are the ones who threatens to lay off workers and small groups like the Guptas or any black business are seen as the ones saving jobs.
As reported by IOL, the Gupta brothers, Ajay, Atul and Rajesh, were said to be on the process of relocating to Dubai in the wake of the increased scrutiny of their business, especially with the contracts that involved transactions with the government or any state-owned enterprise.
According to Gary Naidoo, the family's spokesperson, they have no knowledge regarding the call for a judicial investigation but would welcome any process to help end the wild speculations regarding their dealings with the government. He added that their latest financial statements show that only 1% of their earnings came from businesses that are related to the government.
