Money makes money and these three South Africans have made a lot of it over the years. And by a lot, we mean a LOT! Image: Twitter@SiveXaluva
Money makes money and these three South Africans have made a lot of it over the years. And by a lot, we mean a LOT! Image: Twitter@SiveXaluva
Johann Rupert is one of the richest men in South Africa. Depending on who you talk to, he’s either a brilliant businessman or a white monopoly capitalist. The dollar-billionaire divides opinion in South Africa, with his wealth frequently topping the R100bn ($7bn – $8bn) mark. However, he now stands accused of ‘infiltrating the ANC’ – and you’ll need to buckle up…
Johann Rupert and the ANC – what are the allegations?
On Tuesday, The South African National Civic Organization (SANCO) expressed their concerns about the Remgro founder’s alleged influence in state affairs. The pro-Magashule ANC backers claim that he held a meeting with top party representatives in 2017 – ahead of the Elective Conference – to set out his supposed agenda.
“It’s alleged that the people who met Johann Rupert were given instructions to deal with [Ace Magashule]. Rupert has definitely infiltrated the ANC. Our sources tell us that he was involved in the 2017 Conference, and Cyril Ramaphosa is one of the comrades who has met with them. The president must confirm or deny if this meeting ever took place.”
What has sparked these accusations?
Fuel has most certainly been added to the fire in recent days – but very few of the claims made against Johann Rupert are credible. An article from The Independent has been slammed for claiming that SA’s multi-billionaire ‘has the ear of Cyril Ramaphosa’, and it also alleges that the 70-year-old wants to see the back of Ace Magashule.
The piece has been roundly lambasted for its lack of evidence to back up some of its more flamboyant inferences. However, plenty of people are willing to take it at face value – and a statement issued by Remgro earlier today has done nothing to prevent the rumour mill from churning out more allegations.
Rupert, rumours, Remgro, restrictions, and Ramaphosa
The group is calling for stricter lockdown regulations, just hours before Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to address the nation to announce a series of measures for the Easter break. These aren’t great optics, given the accusations that have been levelled in the past few days – but calls to tighten our restrictions have been widespread since the beginning of last week.
As it stands, there is no proof that Johann Rupert is in cahoots with President Ramaphosa and the ANC government. The investor did donate R1 billion to the Solidarity Fund last year, but those donations were used to help respond to the developing coronavirus pandemic. The EFF were also big financiers of the project.
