Gupta crony demands luxury flight from India

[Click here for the web version of this email]( [Daily Maverick] Tuesday, 9 October 2018 While You Were Working [Chawla demands business class ticket, interpreter]( Oakbay director and notorious Gupta associate Ashu Chawla wanted a business class ticket back from India and a Hindi interpreter in order to brief a parliamentary committee before December. Parliament’s Home Affairs committee chair Hlomani Chauke noted that there was no money for such a plane ticket - estimated at a minimum of R77,000 - and thus he would have to reconvene in December. [Ramaphosa to speak on Nene's fate soon]( President Cyril Ramaphosa will put all doubt over Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene's fate to rest "soon". Ramaphosa's spokesperson Khusela Diko did not disclose just when the President would make an announcement, though at the pace speculation is going, any time today would be good. Hopefully, Ramaphosa will not adopt the presidential tradition of speaking at five minutes to midnight. [Download our free eBook guide]( to planning for retirement. [Solms-Delta saga winds on]( A Friday deadline looms large for Solms-Delta, the farm that was meant to showcase empowerment in the sector. Instead, ongoing uncertainty over who the organisation's business rescue practitioner is threatening to thrust the farm back into liquidation procedures should Friday come and go without resolution. [Click onward]( for the details. [Prasa fiddles while trains burn]( As South Africa's passenger rail agency met to discuss chronic arson against its trains, at least eight cars caught alight. Informing the meeting, Transport portfolio committee chairperson Dikiledi Magadzi noted that "another train was burning". This is the fourth such attack in two weeks. "Snafu" does not even begin to describe it. [Become an Insider]( Maverick Insider is more than just about financially supporting quality, independent journalism and keeping it accessible for all readers. It’s also about building a community with our loyal readers who want to share in unique experiences and help us write this new chapter of Daily Maverick. [Click here]( to get a closer look at the Truth. Featured Articles [As Prasa meets over arson, there’s another fire at Cape Town station]( [As Prasa meets over arson, there’s another fire at Cape Town station]( BY Suné Payne [Good mental healthcare should be part of peacebuilding]( [Good mental healthcare should be part of peacebuilding]( BY ISS Today [Land question at the heart of Solms-Delta as liquidation looms again]( [Land question at the heart of Solms-Delta as liquidation looms again]( BY Marianne Merten Opinionistas [The news media industry needs to clean up the rot in its own ranks]( BY Anton Harber [Nene and the dangerous ignorance of Twitter’s trolls]( BY Ferial Haffajee [FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO A FRIEND]( Copyright © 2018 Daily Maverick, All rights reserved. You are receiving this mail because you are awesome and on the Daily Maverick Afternoon Thing subscriber list. Want to advertise in this mail? [Talk to us.](mailto:advertise@dailymaverick.co.za?subject=Advertising%20query%3A%20Afternoon%20Thing) [Getting too many emails from us? Manage your preferences]( | [Unsubscribe](