Boardroom Talk: Philosopher Agrizzi explains how bribery can be used to make man beholden for life

I've experienced an interesting relationship with SA's most famous whistleblower, former Bosasa COO Angelo Agrizzi. It took a new turn recently when he sent me his two books, beautifully packaged in a green, white and red ribbon displaying his Italian roots. Next, no doubt, will be an interview – lawyers permitting..Am almost through the first Agrizzi book – Inside The Belly Of The Beast – and have been pleasantly surprised at the quality of the writing and cohesive nature of the tale. Written in bursts, each short chapter tells part of the story, setting the scene for the crimes all South Africans will know are coming. I'm just past page 200 and the real muck is emerging..Agrizzi occasionally delves into philosophy. To whit: "It is human nature to elevate one's standard of living according to one's incoming funds. Gavin (Watson) had it all worked out – pay a man a once-off bribe and he'll do what he can and move on. But pay that man a bribe every month and he is beholden to you for life." Straight from the ANC playbook..___STEADY_PAYWALL___.Like any autobiographer, this one is kind to himself. But not excessively so. And it's easy to imagine writing this was a catharsis. Whatever you might think of Agrizzi, or of counter-accusations by the Watsons, reading this book does confirm one thing: SA owes the occupant of Palazzi Agrizzi a great deal for lifting the Bosasa lid. Perhaps the true scandal is why so many he exposed still walk free, doing BEE deals, swigging Chivas and Crème Soda..More for you to read today: .Loadshedding could have been reduced by 96.5% – Mireille Wenger. Minister says all that was needed was to bring 5GW of renewable energy online. Putin's Nuclear Threat Is Real. The conflict isn't only about Ukraine. He's waging a global war on the U.S.-led order.U.K. Regulator Pushed Pensions to Load Up on LDIs. The rush into the derivatives-based investment strategies concentrated risks in the market, sparking a Bank of England bond-market rescue. Chess Investigation Finds That U.S. Grandmaster 'Likely Cheated' More Than 100 Times. An internal report reviewed by The Wall Street Journal alleges a previously unknown pattern of likely widespread cheating by Hans Moke Niemann, the player whose September victory over Magnus Carlsen has rocked the chess world..Applying Buffettology 101 and Level Two thinking – If you can't buy UK companies now, you never willIt's back to a focus on investments in our regular interview with top performing global fund manager, London-based value investor Sean Peche of Ranmore. The obvious question is whether the chaos currently rocking UK financial markets – and Europe's – presents an opportunity for investors. Peche draws on two of his industry's greatest minds – Warren Buffett and Howard Marks – to explain why it's now opportune to swim against the tide, to think beyond the obvious and get greedy at a time when everyone appears to be fearful. He spoke to Alec Hogg of BizNews..NB FOR YOUR WALL STREET JOURNAL ACCESS….As a Premium subscriber you are entitled to full membership of wsj.com (normal price $29 a month). Be sure to action your access through the Premium link on the BizNews website. Because of The Wall Street Journal's credential requirements, be sure to create a password which has at least 8 characters and includes at least one letter and one number – NB it MAY NOT contain any special characters (ie #, !, @ etc). To maintain access to WSJ.com, you MUST enter our partner's website via BizNews Premium at least once a month. A final PS, if you had previously signed up for WSJ you'll need to clear the cookies from your device. Our helpdesk can assist –support@biznews.com.

Boardroom Talk: Philosopher Agrizzi explains how bribery can be used to make man beholden for life

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