Johannesburg - Trade union federation Cosatu said on Tuesday
it is concerned by the growing number of reports and allegations around the
Gupta brothers' involvement, along with President Jacob Zuma's son, in business
deals.
In its secretariat report - a 251-page document - discussed
at its central committee meeting, Cosatu said that it had agreed to commission
independent research into the allegations.
The report raised several questions. These were:
- Was it true that the success of the Gupta brothers
amounted to plundering of the economy, bearing in mind that they were citizens
of another country? If so, what was the implication of the involvement of other
role players and partners in the plundering?
- Was the media attention on the Gupta family just a
negative preoccupation and jealousy at the success of a genuine business?
- Were the allegations that the Gupta family used underhand
means and political influence to advance its interests true?
The report added that suggestions had been made that
Cosatu's motives for raising the issue of corruption was part of a campaign to
target political opponents.
"This is untrue. The fight against corruption has to
target culprits regardless of their political affiliations or ideologies."
Politics of patronage
The report said that the politics of patronage had destroyed
the self-sacrificing and service ethic that had characterised the mass
democratic movement.
The seriousness of the extent to which it had infected
organisations and society had been shown by the emergence of death squads in
several provinces linked to corruption, and the murder of people who had taken a
stand or had "blown the whistle".
The open way in which prominent business figures were linked
to top political leaders deepened perceptions that there was blatant abuse of
power to concoct illegitimate business deals worth billions of rand, it said.
Factions in organisations were increasingly not for
ideological reasons or political differences, but over access to tenders.
"Notwithstanding the work of government, a danger
exists that if the current trajectory continues, the entire state and society
will be auctioned to the highest bidder.
"Given that state procurement is on a massive sale -
over R800bn for infrastructure over three years - failure to deal with endemic
corruption would leave us with a huge challenge."
The report said that while corruption covered a range of
activities, the most insidious and dangerous was the systematic abuse of access
to state power and political contacts to accumulate capital illegally or
immorally.