Pick of the week's articles

[Daily Maverick] Sunday, 17 September 2017 Come listen to Steven Nathan, CEO, 10X Investments and Neville Chester, Portfolio Manager, Coronation discuss the difference between passive and active investments. If you are serious about money markets and investments with a closer look at investment fees, join us for the first of two discussions chaired by Africa Melane on 27 September at The Centre for the Book, Cape Town from 5pm. [RSVP](mailto:events@dailymaverick.co.za?subject=10X%20Daily%20Maverick%20event%20RSVP)[here](mailto:events@dailymaverick.co.za?subject=10X%20Daily%20Maverick%20event%20RSVP). STORY OF THE WEEK [Scorpio & amaBhungane: How McKinsey and Trillian ripped R1.6bn from Eskom – and planned to take R7.8bn more]( By Susan Comrie for AMABHUNGANE and Pauli van Wyk for SCORPIO It is now well-established that global consultants McKinsey and their local Gupta-linked counterpart Trillian extracted R1.6-billion in fees for “turnaround” advice given to Eskom. In this investigation, the first in a series, we delve into an explosive report that says Eskom ignored warnings that the proposed contract might be illegal, and reveal internal documents detailing how McKinsey and Trillian planned their multibillion-rand payday. The scandal has further dented Eskom’s image, already battered by a succession of “state capture” revelations. Now it is threatening the consulting companies too. Corruption Watch says it is alerting US authorities about McKinsey, while Trillian appears to be fighting to stay open. [KPMG: ‘Weak’ apology suggests company saw no evil, heard no evil – therefore did no evil]( KPMG’s written apology to South Africa, if one can call it an apology, purports to be decisive. Their local CEO Trevor Hoole resigns along with seven executives in KPMG’s audit, risk and tax departments as a result of a “comprehensive investigation” conducted by KPMG International. Disciplinary steps with the eye to a dismissal will also be initiated against the lead partner overseeing the audits of the non-listed Gupta companies. KPMG’s investigation relates to a series of damning stories by amaBhungane and Scorpio based on the #GuptaLeaks. We revealed how the Guptas laundered millions of rand earmarked for emerging black farmers in the Free State through Dubai to pay for the “event of the millenium” – the Sun City wedding. All this while #KPMG was supposed to look over their shoulder. Public pressure also ensured that KPMG revisited the discredited KPMG report into the South African Revenue Service (SARS) investigative unit made out as “rogue” at the end of 2014. KPMG’s conclusion to their investigation: They saw no evil and were repeatedly mislead. BY PAULI VAN WYK. [Zuma, State Security and Public Protector behind attack on SA Reserve Bank, court papers reveal]( An explosive affidavit filed by the South African Reserve Bank in the Pretoria High Court on Tuesday has confirmed suspicions that Public Protector, Busisiwe Mkhwebane, colluded with President Jacob Zuma's legal advisers and the State Security Agency to use an investigation by her office into a 1985 SARB bailout of Bancorp to launch an attack on the independence of the South African Reserve Bank. The affidavit also suggests Mkhwebane lied about meeting “the Presidency”. The revelations most certainly offer grounds for reviewing Mkhwebane's appointment to the vital position and implicate the President in her unlawful behaviour. By MARIANNE THAMM. [What becomes of the broken-hearted: Parents of murdered Stellenbosch student vow to plough back]( Around 7.7km of scenic coastal road lies between the violence-torn township of Ocean View and the serene Scarborough home of Anna and Willem Cornelius. It has only been four months since their 21-year-old daughter, Hannah, a student at Stellenbosch university, was abducted, raped and murdered. On Saturday a bullet slammed into the head of nine-year-old Aqueel Davids, who was sitting in the lounge of his Ocean View home. Aqueel is one of at least 13 people, mostly children, killed in the township this year. Anna and Willem are intimately linked to the communities that surround them and are determined, through a trust in honour of their daughter, to find ways to heal and support South Africa’s walking wounded to which they now also belong. By MARIANNE THAMM. [Analysis: Could Zweli Mkhize take the Number One spot? And if he did... then what?]( Reports emerged this week that the ANC in Mpumalanga was going to support ANC Treasurer Zweli Mkhize for the position of party leader in December. Coming in a week in which the party’s KwaZulu-Natal leadership lost a crucial court case, and as divisions in the party deepen, it appears that a realisation is dawning of just how close the party could be to an irrevocable split. Coming with that realisation is the search for candidates who can keep the party together, and get it over the existential hurdle that December is becoming. This means it may be time to consider the possibility of Mkhize becoming leader of the ANC, and then President of South Africa. On the national campaign trail he may be the one person who could bridge the urban/rural divide. But his Achilles’ heel could well be the ANC itself, and whether he would be able to exert control over it. By STEPHEN GROOTES. [ANC KwaZulu-Natal: One day after court’s shattering ruling, party looks to avoid paralysis]( Close to two dozen leaders from the ANC’s leagues and regions in KwaZulu-Natal gathered at the party’s provincial headquarters where they implied that the court ruling which declared its conference unlawful and void was absurd. So now, they said, they would “defend the ANC” by supporting the provincial executive committee’s decision to appeal the ruling – although it’s not yet clear what the national leadership thinks of this. Meanwhile, this fight could soon come to a polling station near you. By CARIEN DU PLESSIS. [Op-Ed: Did Iqbal Survé’s personal agenda influence newspaper’s coverage of UCT?]( From the time the Sekunjalo Group purchased Independent Media SA (INMSA) from its Irish owners four years ago, INMSA publications have undergone a radical repositioning – particularly the Cape Times and its coverage of the University of Cape Town (UCT), Rhodes Must Fall (RMF) and Fees Must Fall (FMF). This transformation occurred almost simultaneously with INMSA executive chairman Iqbal Survé’s resignation from his university posts. UCT Vice-Chancellor Dr Max Price claims Survé jumped before he was pushed. Were personal reasons behind an apparent Survé vendetta against UCT and its management? By RICKY STOCH. — Come listen to Steven Nathan, CEO, 10X Investments and Neville Chester, Portfolio Manager, Coronation discuss the difference between passive and active investments. If you are serious about money markets and investments with a closer look at investment fees, join us for the first of two discussions chaired by Africa Melane on 27 September at The Centre for the Book, Cape Town from 5pm. [RSVP](mailto:events@dailymaverick.co.za?subject=10X%20Daily%20Maverick%20event%20RSVP)[here](mailto:events@dailymaverick.co.za?subject=10X%20Daily%20Maverick%20event%20RSVP). [Explainer: What’s happening to the Rohingya Muslims?]( Have you lost track of the plight of the Rohingya Muslims, and why they are considered a persecuted minority? Confused about the situation in Myanmar, and why previously saintly Aung San Suu Kyi appears to be rapidly ceding her moral high ground? Wondering if South Africa is doing anything about what is widely regarded as a human rights catastrophe? We have you covered. By REBECCA DAVIS. [Op-Ed: Cape Town’s inadequate drought tariffs]( The City of Cape Town's water demand management strategy restricts how much water poor households can use, while allowing those with swimming pools and water-guzzling gardens to imagine they live in a world of abundant water. This illusion has been allowed to last for far, far too long. And is, we believe, at the root of many of the difficulties we are currently facing. By JESSICA WILSON and TARYN PEREIRA. [FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO A FRIEND]( Copyright © 2017 Daily Maverick, All rights reserved. You are receiving this mail because you are awesome and on the Daily Maverick First Thing subscriber list. [Preferences]( | [Unsubscribe](