Zimbabwe, Angola arrest those charged with graft. Why not in SA?

JOHANNESBURG — For probably the last decade, South Africa's credibility and status as a powerhouse on the African continent has been gradually eroding away. It's easy to see why. Economically, South Africa has been weakening while countries such as Rwanda and Ethiopia have been implementing reforms and taking off. Meanwhile, the extent of corruption with regard to Zuma and the Guptas has been so immense in South Africa that our reputation as a relatively 'clean' business environment has been heavily tarnished. It's no surprise, that even countries with bad records and histories – ie. Zimbabwe and Angola – are now seemingly doing more than South Africa when it comes to tackling problems like corruption. – Gareth van Zyl

Corruption is endemic in Zimbabwe…in the public & private sectors…in virtually all political parties,in the churches…it's everywhere!
Let's ruthlessly clamp down on corruption or else we're all doomed!
— Obert Gutu (@GutuObert) September 28, 2018

Zimbabwe police arrest CEO of State Power Company over tender

By Godfrey Marawanyika

(Bloomberg) – Zimbabwean police arrested the head of the state power distributor over a tender involving an Indian company, Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said.

The authorities detained Joshua Chifamba, chief executive officer of the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission & Distribution Co., on Wednesday night and he'll appear in court on Thursday, Nyathi said by phone from the capital, Harare.

He will face charges that "relate to a $35 million tender involving an Indian company called PME," Nyathi said. Noida, India-based PME Power Solutions India Ltd. is a manufacturer of power transformers.

Crowds to see Angola's latest prisoner show graft war is serious

By Candido Mendes and Henrique Almeida

(Bloomberg) – Dozens of Angolans crowd the gates of the capital's main prison hospital, jockeying for a glimpse of an unexpected new inmate: the son of the man who ruled the southern African nation for almost four decades.

Jose Eduardo dos Santos' son, Jose Filomeno, is only the most high-profile prisoner at the facility in Luanda as Angola's new president wages an anti-graft war that's thrown the former ruling elite into disarray. TV crews, relatives in expensive cars and ordinary citizens have all flocked here, witnesses to a turning point for the oil-producing country that's long been ranked one of the world's most corrupt.

https://twitter.com/ChyemennSantos/status/1044917704518500353

"I never thought I was ever going to see this," Maria Fernanda, a 50-year-old local pharmacist, said of the high-profile detentions that also include a former police chief and an ex-transportation minister. "It's unbelievable."

The crackdown is the latest step by President Joao Lourenco, who was elected last year and speaks of a "duty and obligation" to crush corruption to save Angola's ailing economy. Arrests have extended to the Dos Santos family and its allies, who're accused of amassing fortunes through their grip on the nation's oil, diamonds and other resources.

Fancy cars

"The arrest of Jose Filomeno dos Santos marks an important symbolic step in President Joao Lourenco's anti-corruption drive," Fitch Solutions Macro Research said in a note this week. While it shows the government "is driving some moderate improvement in transparency and in reducing corruption," action against "a few high proﬁle individuals will not be suﬃcient to resolve what many describe as endemic levels of corruption within key Angolan institutions," it said.

Sao Paulo, a medium-security prison hospital with 20-foot-tall walls that's now being used for high-profile inmates as well as patients, is a far cry from the glitzy skyscrapers on Luanda's oceanfront the elites are accustomed to. On a recent Friday, drivers of cars including a brand new Lexus and a Porsche Carrera turned off the dirt road into a visitors parking area – a sign of the prisoners' wealthy connections.

Isabel dos Santos attends the inauguration of Efacec Power Solutions SA's new electric mobility industrial unit in Maia, Portugal, in February 5, 2018. Photographer: Daniel Rodgrigues/Bloomberg

Not spotted visiting so far: Isabel dos Santos, the ex-president's eldest daughter and Africa's richest woman. She's the target of a probe looking into a $38.2 million transfer that was made at state-owned oil company Sonangol before she was fired as chairwoman last year. She has called the allegations politically motivated.

Leading the battle

Lourenco, 64, has said the ruling People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola needs to lead the anti-graft battle. That's "even if the first to fall are militants or even senior officials of the party that have committed crimes," he told delegates on Sept. 8 as he replaced Dos Santos as its head.

He's also pushing for funds he said were illegally moved abroad to be returned to Africa's second-biggest oil producer, warning that Angolans who don't comply by year's end will face prosecution. Central bank Governor Jose Massano estimates at least $30 billion is held abroad, including legal deposits.

In the 12 months since João Lourenço became president of Angola several key officials, including members of the Dos Santos family, have been charged or investigated in connection with corruption and money-laundering allegations, writes Alex Vines. https://t.co/JQB6QyxKoh
— Mail & Guardian (@mailandguardian) October 3, 2018

There's some dissent. Last week, Bento Kangamba – a former army general and the owner of football team Kabuscorp Sport Clube do Palanca – criticized what he called Lourenco's heavy-handed approach.

"We won't allow things that have nothing to do with the good of society and aim to destroy the party and its militants to happen," Kangamba, who organised the ex-president's rallies, told Voice of America.

Banking accusations

Jose Filomeno, 40, is accused of trying to siphon $1.5 billion from the central bank by claiming the money would help secure $35 billion of financing for Angola, the Finance Ministry said in April. The move allegedly occurred days before Lourenco was elected president, as Angola grappled with zero economic growth, soaring inflation and a dollar shortage.

The first $500 million was transferred in August 2017 from Angola's central bank to an HSBC Holdings Plc account in the UK. That initial instalment was blocked by UK authorities suspecting foul play, and part of the $500 million has since been returned to Angola.

Jose Filomeno vowed to cooperate with the investigations. He now spends much of his time in the prison's VIP section, where he and others watch TV and eat food brought by their relatives, according to a guard who asked not to be named because he isn't authorised to speak to the media.

The guard said the ex-president's son typically declines visitors and responds to prison officials with single words. Former Transportation Minister Augusto Tomas is more gregarious, spending time with his relatives, friends and religious officials, he said.

On the day Dos Santos' son was arrested, Lourenco presented what he dubbed a "New Angola" to potential investors in New York.

"Angola has entered a new political cycle," he said, touting economic reforms and the war on corruption. "In only one year, this is the Angola that I present to you, with a new business climate that is investor-friendly."