The Citizen writes that the Gupta family’s capture of the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) may have kept scores of South Africans out of jobs.  

The family and its businesses are said to have turned the DHA into their own private permit-issuing factory, using top officials to waive important requirements for work visas for at least 50 foreign nationals and family members, who were brought into SA to fill “critical” jobs such as project managers, chefs and chartered accountants.  Yet, there were many qualified South Africans out of employment who could have done this work.  The permit paperwork was a mess, yet waivers of critical requirements were abundant.  The project is said to have flourished during the time current Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba was minister of Home Affairs, and involved a network of senior and middle level department officials.  The evidence of the wholesale capture of the DHA is apparently contained in a trove of dumped Gupta e-mails.  The Citizen sent a list of questions some weeks ago to both the DHA and to Gigaba’s official spokesperson, but neither has yet responded.

• Read this report by Amanda Watson in full at The Citizen
• Read too, Details of the Guptas’ capture of Home Affairs, at The Citizen

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page