Zooming with the Zumas: Jacob, Duduzane reality TV show nails Mabuza first; investors hunt SA firms; tobacco battle

By Jackie Cameron

• Former president Jacob Zuma and Duduzane Zuma, his son who worked for the Gupta family, have produced their version of a reality TV show. The first episode of Zooming with the Zumas, which appears on YouTube, focuses on how Duduzane managed the clandestine extraction of current deputy president David Mabuza to a medical treatment facility in Russia. Listen! Duduzane Zuma, who worked for the Gupta family and refers to them as a business partner, chatted to the former president with skyscrapers in the background while Zuma is seated on a veranda. Jacob Zuma doesn’t say much, leaving Duduzane to do most of the talking. Duduzane appears to be at times on a charm offensive, describing how he found his mother, Kate, dying following a suicide attempt. His story quickly turned to putting the knife into deputy president David Mabuza, who stopped communicating with Duduzane for unknown reasons. Duduzane tells a story involving a midnight flit to Russia for medical treatment. Duduzane’s so-called business partner Tony Gupta also hitched a ride to Russia.
• A Morgan Stanley backed fund has plans to invest R5bn of newly raised cash in mid-sized South African companies hit by a shrinking local economy and the coronavirus pandemic, reports Bloomberg. The firm, Capitalworks Investment Partners, raised 25% more than planned for its Private Equity Fund III from Morgan Stanley’s Alternative Investments Partners unit, institutional investors and wealthy families, Capitalworks founder Chad Smart said. The Johannesburg-based company is seeking businesses with enterprise values from R250m to R4bn in industries such as financial services, food, and health.
• British American Tobacco will begin negotiations with the South African government instead of taking legal action to overturn a national ban on cigarette sales now in its sixth week, says the news wire. South Africa blocked the trade of tobacco products in late March as part of a lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus, and was set to lift the restriction last week before a last-minute U-turn. BAT said at the time the government should reverse the decision or face the risk of legal action. South Africa’s decision to ban the sale of tobacco and alcohol products has resulted in a “thriving illicit economy”, says Bloomberg.
• The World Bank has come to Zimbabwe’s rescue, finding $7m to help it fight the coronavirus pandemic despite being in arrears with the Washington-based lender. The World Bank will mobilise $5m from its Global Financing Facility Trust Fund to support the nation’s health response to the outbreak and redirect about $2m from its ongoing Zimbabwe Idai Recovery Project to support affected communities, reports Bloomberg.