Singh exits Eskom, stage left

[Daily Maverick] FIRST THING with JOHN STUPART Tuesday, 23 January 2018 "The wonder is, not that the field of stars is so vast, but that man has measured it." Anatole France STORY OF THE DAY [Scorpio: The curious case of ANC benefactor Robert Huang, a never-ending investigation and billions owed to SARS]( By PAULI VAN WYK for SCORPIO Panicked SARS officials compiled a confidential internal report to their managers on the status of one of the biggest tax evasion investigations, just days after journalist Jacques Pauw’s blockbuster book The President’s Keepers hit stores around the country in November. The report’s focus: The curious multibillion-rand and decade-old tax case of the Taiwanese national and Zuma-linked businessman Jen Chih (Robert) Huang, his company Mpisi Trading 74 and an estimated R3-billion owed to SARS. Based on information from the heart of SARS, Scorpio can reveal that Huang attempted to settle his tax affairs for R20-million, that the finalisation of Huang’s case, code-named “Project Nightfury”, seems to have ground to a halt, and that Pauw’s revelations about Huang were spot-on. WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING [Singh sings his last song]( Eskom's suspended CFO Anoj Singh has called it quits. Announcing late on Monday evening that he would resign with immediate effect, Eskom confirmed that he would still testify today in an inquiry. Singh has been accused of illegally awarding contracts to Gupta-linked businesses, while also receiving gifts from the Saxonwold cartel. Nothing quite suggests a guilty conscience like resigning the day before your scheduled inquiry. [Belligerent Dlamini dodges questions at SassaGate Inquiry]( Singh was not the only one attempting to deploy flares just before an inquiry. Minister of Social Development and notorious incompetent Bathabile Dlamini insisted on speaking Zulu, appeared openly annoyed at being questioned, and generally had a horrid time at her Monday interview. As is the norm in government, Dlamini took a leaf out of Life Esidimeni's book and blamed her juniors, throwing Sassa CEO Thokozani Magwaza under the bus. [US Congress ends shutdown]( The US Government went back to work on Monday, voting to end a three-day shutdown. President Donald Trump, whose party controls virtually every wing of government, hailed the end of the shutdown as a victory in his stalemate with Democrats. The latter in turn shot back, accusing Trump of sitting on the sidelines over the weekend, refusing to engage in negotiations. That is golf and cheeseburger time, after all, not negotiation time. [Facebook admits it's threat to democracy]( Facebook conceded on Monday that it, and other social media, formed a threat to democracy. The rampant and uncontrolled spread of fake news, misinformation and general idiocy during the 2016 US election was hailed as a case in point for the danger of an uncontrolled or unfiltered platform like Facebook. The fact that you cannot read this on Facebook in China should be a reasonably good example. — PICTURE OF THE DAY BY EPA-EFE/KIM LUDBROOK Protesters run from a police tear gas canister during fierce running battles after people took to the streets over crime in their area, Johannesburg, South Africa, 22 January 2018. IN NUMBERS 1-1.5 The average amount of snot, in litres, produced by a healthy human daily. FACTS OF THE DAY Today in 1900 the Battle of Spionkop is fought. This resulted in a resounding British defeat. There are more museums in the United States than Starbucks and McDonald's combined. FEATURED ARTICLES [SassaGate Inquiry: The truth ‘lost in elaboration’ as belligerent Bathabile Dlamini glowers, blames and evades]( [SassaGate Inquiry: The truth ‘lost in elaboration’ as belligerent Bathabile Dlamini glowers, blames and evades]( BY Marianne Thamm [Analysis: When Ace Magashule met the National Press – pretty it was not]( [Analysis: When Ace Magashule met the National Press – pretty it was not]( BY Stephen Grootes [Life Esidimeni: Former Health MEC Qedani Mahlangu spins a web of confusion and deceit to shift the blame]( [Life Esidimeni: Former Health MEC Qedani Mahlangu spins a web of confusion and deceit to shift the blame]( BY Greg Nicolson [Notes from the House: Parliamentary Eskom inquiry to run parallel to Zuma’s State Capture probe]( [Notes from the House: Parliamentary Eskom inquiry to run parallel to Zuma’s State Capture probe]( BY MOIRA LEVY [#CapeWaterGate: Six ways in which Capetonians could be violating water regulations]( [#CapeWaterGate: Six ways in which Capetonians could be violating water regulations]( BY Rebecca Davis [Op-Ed: Transitioning from Zuma to Ramaphosa]( [Op-Ed: Transitioning from Zuma to Ramaphosa]( BY Raymond Suttner [#CapeWaterGate: Fear and loathing in the face of #DayZero]( [#CapeWaterGate: Fear and loathing in the face of #DayZero]( BY Antoinette Muller [Op-Ed: Don’t let the City of Cape Town gaslight you — the water crisis is not your fault]( [Op-Ed: Don’t let the City of Cape Town gaslight you — the water crisis is not your fault]( BY Jason Norwood-Young [South Sudan: Kiir updates Zuma and Ramaphosa on peace process]( [South Sudan: Kiir updates Zuma and Ramaphosa on peace process]( BY PETER FABRICIUS OPINIONISTAS [Fake news? Blame God.]( [Fake news? Blame God.]( A column by Chris Roper [Mandela’s Davos Experience: Will Ramaphosa face the same?]( [Mandela’s Davos Experience: Will Ramaphosa face the same?]( A column by Yonela Diko [Water crisis will have a significant impact on Cape wine industry]( [Water crisis will have a significant impact on Cape wine industry]( A column by Michael Fridjhon [Zille demonstrates consequences of socialism]( [Zille demonstrates consequences of socialism]( A column by Ivo Vegter — Weather BFN: min: 14° max 28°, rainy CPT: min: 17° max: 21°, rainy DBN: min: 21° max: 28°, rainy EL: min: 18° max: 28°, rainy JHB: min: 16° max: 26°, cloudy KIM: min: 16° max: 31°, cloudy MHK: min: 17° max: 31°, sunny PMB: min: 17° max: 32, rainy PE: min: 19° max: 29°, cloudy PTA: min: 19° max: 31°, cloudy Financial Data Oil=$69.15 Gold=$1,334.15 Platinum=$996.48 R/$=12.05 R/€=14.78 R/£=16.86 BTC/$=10,373 JSE All Share=61,060.28 DJIA=26,158.24 FTSE 100=7,715.44 [FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO A FRIEND]( Copyright © 2017 Daily Maverick, All rights reserved. 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