Family in South African Scandal Says It Is a Scapegoat

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

JOHANNESBURG — Villain or scapegoat? A wealthy business family in South Africa that has been criticized for allegedly improper links to President Jacob Zuma is trying to change the negative narrative.

In a two-page spread Friday in a newspaper that it owns, the Gupta family denied it is corrupt but did not directly address accusations that it tried to boost business by influencing some of Zuma’s choices for Cabinet posts, even allegedly offering the finance minister’s job to an official.

The allegations against the Guptas have fed into wider worries about corruption in South Africa, stirring debate about whether Zuma can ride out the scandal or will face increasing calls to resign as the government struggles to attract investment.

“As the global economic slowdown began to bite, the family became the scapegoat for every calamity and misfortune that South Africa has faced,” the Guptas said in The New Age newspaper.

The Indian immigrant family said Atul Gupta, who chairs holding company Oakbay Investments with his brother Ajay, arrived a year before white-minority rule ended in 1994, and helped build a new South Africa.

The family, which has interests in mining, engineering and the media, said its the target of “xenophobic and hate speech,” a grave allegation in a country grappling not just with its legacy of racial conflict but also periodic violence against immigrants.

The Gupta family’s “interaction” with Zuma began before he became president, and allegations of corruption are false, the statement said.

Zuma’s son, Duduzane, has business links to the Guptas, according to media reports.

Zuma’s relationship with the Guptas is front-page news here. Blending both names, a Mail and Guardian headline said: “Battle lines drawn: Zuptas vs the rest.”

與總統很麻吉…印度富家族 黑手伸南非政壇

南非財政部副部長喬納斯日前坦承，富可敵國的印度古普塔家族成員曾表示願提供他財政部部長職位，但被他拒絕。南非總統祖馬雖否認古普塔家族在幕後操縱內閣人事，但此事已傷及祖馬政權，讓原已備受貪腐、任用親信及無力改善疲弊經濟等指責的祖馬再添醜聞，前途亮起了紅燈。

祖馬在國會接受質詢時，否認古普塔家族操縱部長人事。他說：「我負責掌管政府，並根據憲法任命閣員。在座的每位閣員，沒有一位由古普塔家族或其他人任命。」南非反貪腐觀察組織保民官考慮調查古普塔家族涉入內政一事。

古普塔家族三兄弟一九九三年移民南非，從電腦產業起家，如今事業版圖擴及礦業、航空業、能源、科技和媒體等多種行業。該家族十八日在自家報紙「新時代」中力駁各項指控與批評，並且說「就像其他南非企業一樣，我們和政府互動，我們和前任總統的關係也同樣密切」。

古普塔家族聲明指出，家族成員在祖馬還沒當上總統前就認識他；祖馬也曾坦言與該家族關係密切，妻小都曾或仍在其企業工作。英國媒體特別創造新字「Zuptas」（祖普塔），形容祖馬（Zuma）和古普塔家族（Guptas）關係匪淺。

原文參照：
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2016/03/18/world/africa/ap-af-south-africa-rich-familys-influence.html

2016-03-20．聯合報．A13．國際．編譯陳韻涵