It is the sort of influence which was impossible without the help of the ANC.
The belated – and rather shocking – confession of finance minister Nhlanhla Nene during his testimony at the Zondo commission is testament to the extent of the Guptas’ influence.
But this also is not too hard to imagine, given the sheer power which the president of the ruling party carries within our democracy and electoral system.
It has been demonstrated beyond doubt that, within this system, any person who captures the president captures much of the power he carries.
Nene may have lost his shine and our collective trust, but two things need to be noted.
The first is that he confessed to having visited the infamous Saxonwold compound, albeit belatedly, and after having lied about it.
The confession is to some extent admirable, especially in an age when politicians usually continue to lie even after they have been caught out; former US president Barack will tell you.
The second issue is that there is still much to learn about Nene’s visits to the Guptas’ Saxonwold compound, where ministers were regularly summoned during former president Jacob Zuma’s tenure.
It is only after we have learnt the full details of his visits that we can form a reasonably accurate opinion of Nene. However, it is firmly within our rights to lose faith in him, and to … eh, withhold our acceptance of his apology until then.
None of this takes away Nene’s contribution to saving SA from the full impact of state capture.
Had he not refused to sign the hastily penned agreements with Russia as it concerns the nuclear build programme, we would have been in a far worse predicament.
The state capture project – which is actually a covert takeover of a sovereign state, more than anything else – would then have been complete.
If he had signed the agreement, Nene would have sealed his fate as a central catalyst in this treasonous project.
However, it is still early days and more skeletons are set to tumble out of the dark closets of the high and mighty – ask Bathabile Dlamini.
However, what may be more important for us to note are two factors which play a prominent role in creating the background to this sordid story of state capture.
One of these is brought into the open by ukubusa. This concept combines, on the one hand, what can be referred to as “being beholden to someone”. On the other hand it carries the concepts of respect and regard.
It refers to actions taken by those who are essentially accountable to their powerful counterparts to show respect and regard for their elevated positions in society.
It is not terrible in its intentions, especially in how ukubusa is supposed to show respect for seniority.
But the downside is in how those who are answerable are never able to offer correction or honest advice, or stand their ground on issues of principle against those they are accountable to.
Add to this the second factor, a closely related strategic tactic of the ANC: cadre deployment. These two factors produce a dangerous concoction of rather covert human motivations for keeping quiet in the face of disaster.
In actual fact, they create such a strong culture of herd mentality that it becomes very hard for anyone to break ranks and point out wrongdoing, let alone present a fresh vision.
But it also ingrains a horribly mistaken assumption that leaders know everything, and that they are beyond reproach.
This is diametrically opposed to the often trotted out ANC propaganda phrase that power is in the branches. In the end ukubusa and cadre deployment fed into each other, creating the horrible culture of self-serving minions who facilitated and sustained state capture.
Tragically, this culture is not confined to the ANC alone.
It has spread throughout SA, establishing a deeply ingrained self-serving attitude where actions are only an answer to ‘what’s in it for me?’
So the cost of state capture includes the ongoing cost of a culture shaped more for corruption and self-preservation than for critical thought, creativity and accelerated human development...