Corruption is Everywhere > Trump Org. guilty of tax evasion; Ramaphosa facing impeachment; Glencore Settles another Corruption case

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Trump Organization found guilty of years-long tax fraud scheme

By Luc Cohen and Karen Freifeld  Reuters

Posted December 6, 2022 1:03 pm

Global National: Dec. 3

Donald Trump’s real estate company was convicted on Tuesday of carrying out a more-than 15-year-long criminal scheme to defraud tax authorities, adding to the legal woes facing the former U.S. president as he campaigns for the office again in 2024.

The Trump Organization – which operates hotels, golf courses, and other real estate around the world – faces fines over the conviction. The exact amount will be determined by the judge overseeing the trial in New York State court at a later date.

The company pleaded not guilty. Trump himself was not charged in the case.

While the fine is not expected to be material for a company of the Trump Organization’s size, the conviction by a jury could complicate its ability to do business by spooking lenders and partners.

The case centered on charges that the company paid personal expenses like free rent and car leases for top executives including former chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg without reporting the income, and paid them bonuses as if they were independent contractors.

“The smorgasbord of benefits is designed to keep its top executives happy and loyal,” prosecutor Joshua Steinglass told jurors during his closing argument on Friday.

The Trump Organization separately faces a fraud lawsuit brought by New York state Attorney General Letitia James.

Trump himself is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice over his handling of sensitive government documents after he left office in January 2021 and attempts to overturn the November 2020 election, which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

Weisselberg, 75, testified as the government’s star witness as part of a plea deal with prosecutors that will allow him to spend no more than five months in jail.

The Trump Organization argued that Weisselberg carried out the scheme to benefit himself. He is on paid leave from the company and testified that he received more than $1 million in salary and bonus payments this year.

“The question here is not whether as a byproduct the company saved some money,” Susan Necheles, a defense lawyer, said in her closing argument on Thursday. “(Weisselberg’s) intent was to benefit himself, not the company.”

Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Nov. 19 that his family got “no economic gain from the acts done by the executive.”

Although, keeping top executives might be considered gain.

Republican Trump, who on Nov. 15 announced his third campaign for the presidency, has called the probe a politically motivated “witch hunt.” Both Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and his predecessor who brought the charges, Cyrus Vance, are Democrats.

Shouldn't DAs be non-political?

Weisselberg, who pleaded guilty in August to concealing $1.76 million in income from tax authorities, testified that Trump himself signed the Christmas bonus checks and personally paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in private school tuition for Weisselberg’s grandchildren.

He also said Trump’s two sons – who took over the company’s operations in 2017 after Trump became president – gave him a raise after they knew about his tax dodge scheme.

“The whole narrative that Donald Trump was blissfully ignorant is just not real,” Steinglass said.

The Trump Organization also sought to argue that Donald Bender, an outside accountant, should have caught and blown the whistle on Weisselberg’s fraud.

The company called Bender as its main witness, but his testimony appeared to backfire when he said he trusted that the information Weisselberg gave him was accurate and that he was under no obligation to investigate further.

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President of South Africa faces impeachment over 'Farmgate' scandal

By A.L. Lee

   

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa denies any wrongdoing in what has become known as the “Farmgate” scandal, claiming that nearly $600,000 in cash found stuffed in sofa cushions at his Phala Phala farm in the country's northeast were proceeds from buffalo sales. File photo by Pete Marovich/UPI | License Photo

Dec. 1 (UPI) -- South African President Cyril Ramaphosa faces impeachment after an independent investigation determined he allegedly tried to cover up a $4 million robbery at his farm two years ago in an effort to abscond with the loot.

Ramaphosa denies any wrongdoing in what has become known as the "Farmgate" scandal, claiming that nearly $600,000 in cash found stuffed in sofa cushions at his Phala Phala farm in the country's northeast were proceeds from buffalo sales.

He has not faced any criminal charges since the scandal first emerged back in June.

However, the extensive report released Wednesday by an independent South African investigative committee accuses Ramaphosa of concealing the $4 million heist and then pressuring the Namibian president into silencing the suspects following their arrests.

Ramaphosa "abused his position as head of state to have the matter investigated and seeking the assistance of the Namibian president to apprehend a suspect," the committee said in the report.

The case first came to light this past summer after the country's former spy chief, Arthur Fraser, accused Ramaphosa of working behind the scenes to conceal the caper.

At the time, Fraser publicly speculated whether the loot had come from money-laundering instead of buffalo sales, and accused the president of kidnapping and bribery.

Well after the fact, Ramaphosa finally acknowledged that the robbery happened but said the amount stolen was far less than $4 million.

"I did not 'hunt' for the perpetrators of the theft, as alleged, nor did I give any instructions for this to take place," the president wrote in a submission to the panel's report.

The findings of the investigation have been handed over to the country's parliament, which will convene early next week to decide whether to launch official impeachment proceedings.

In order to forcibly remove Ramaphosa from office, the body will have to find the president guilty of misconduct, abuse of power, and violating the constitution that he helped draft with Nelson Mandela in the early 1990s.

Leaders of Ramaphosa's party, the African National Congress, were expected to meet later Thursday to discuss the details of the report ahead of a larger political convention to decide whether the incumbent should seek a second term in 2024.

Back in Cape Town, Ramaphosa canceled an appearance before parliament and rescheduled meetings with provincial lawmakers to give himself time to pore over the findings while opposition leaders made public calls for him to step down.

"I have endeavored, throughout my tenure as president, not only to abide by my oath but to set an example of respect for the Constitution, for its institutions, for due process and the law," Ramaphosa said in a statement on Wednesday.

"I categorically deny that I have violated this oath in any way, and I similarly deny that I am guilty of any of the allegations made against me."

In the report, the panel specifically seeks an explanation for $580,000 found hidden inside a sofa that was never reported to authorities. The report further alleges that the cattle Ramaphosa claimed to have sold were still grazing on his farm.

"We think that the president has a case to answer on the origin of the foreign currency that was stolen, as well as the underlying transaction for it," the committee states in the report.

Ramaphosa was elected in 2018 and rose to power on an anti-corruption platform following the controversial tenure of his predecessor Jacob Zuma, who was sentenced last year to 15 months in prison for failing to appear for his criminal corruption trial -- a case that is still pending.

Swiss mining company Glencore settles corruption case in Congo

By Adam Schrader

   

Demonstrators participate in a union protest in front of the main entrance of the casino in Zug, Switzerland, in 2018 on the occasion of the Glencore annual meeting. File Photo by Alexandra Wey/EPA-EFE

Dec. 5 (UPI) -- Glencore, a mining company based in Switzerland, settled a corruption case in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday for $180 million.

The company announced in a news release that the settlement covers all current and future claims from alleged corruption between 2007 and 2018.

"This includes activities in certain group businesses that have been the subject of various investigations by, amongst others, the U.S. Department of Justice and the DRC's National Financial Intelligence Unit and Ministry of Justice," Glencore said in the statement.

The U.S. Justice Department in May said in a statement that Glencore had admitted to corruption by conspiring to pay $27.5 million to illegally secure business advantages in the DRC.

"The rule of law requires that there not be one rule for the powerful and another for the powerless; one rule for the rich and another for the poor," U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said at the time.

"The Justice Department will continue to bring to bear its resources on these types of cases, no matter the company and no matter the individual."

The settlement announced Monday marks the latest in a series of corruption cases in which Glencore has agreed to pay more than $1.6 billion in fines, the BBC reported.

More than $1.1 billion of those fines came after the company pleaded guilty in coordinated resolutions in the United States, Britain and Brazil.

Under the settlement reached Monday, Glencore "committed to continue to implement in its resolution" with the U.S. Justice Department.

Glencore's assets in DRC include the copper-cobalt mine Mutanda and a controlling stake in the Kamoto Copper Co., one of the world's largest copper and cobalt producers.

"Glencore is a longstanding investor in the DRC and is pleased to have reached this agreement to address the consequences of its past conduct," Glencore Chairman Kalidas Madhavpeddi said.

"Glencore has actively promoted its ethics and compliance program in the DRC in recent years and looks forward to continuing to work with the DRC authorities and other stakeholders to facilitate good governance and ethical business practices in the country."

An African country with ethical business practices.... Sure.

Military Madness > China wants answers on USA's Biolabs in Ukraine; Macron condemns NATO again; Serb FB fans List NATO's Sins; Ramaphosa blames NATO

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UPDATE - Aug 01, 2025

Please go to: 

Did China ever get answers from USA for its questions about DoD sponsored biolabs in Ukraine?

 

I asked Grok - Elon Musk's AI program on X some tough questions and got some surprising answers:

Original:

China urges US answer on Ukraine biolabs

Beijing’s ambassador to the UN said evidence provided by Russia

deserves a response without double standards

Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, speaks during the UN Security Council meeting discussing the United States' alleged military biological research in Ukraine; March 11, 2022. ©  Getty Images / Liao Pan

Russia’s revelations of documents pertaining to US-backed biological laboratories in Ukraine deserve the world’s attention, and the parties involved need to address those concerns, China’s permanent representative to the UN told the Security Council on Friday.

Having been a victim of chemical and biological weapons, China believes that “any information and leads on biological military activities should trigger heightened concern and attention of the international community to avoid irreparable harm,” Ambassador Zhang Jun said.

“Russia has further revealed the newly discovered relevant documents. The party concerned should respond to questions, and offer timely and comprehensive clarifications to remove the doubts of the international community,” Zhang added.

We do not consider it too much to ask. And, on this issue, no double standards should be applied.

Friday’s UNSC briefing was called by Russia, which shared the evidence obtained from laboratories across Ukraine. Moscow’s permanent representative to the UN, Vasily Nebenzia, argued that if the dangerous pathogens the laboratories were working on had leaked, the impact on Europe would be “difficult to imagine” and could have been worse than the Covid-19 pandemic, in comparison.

According to a briefing by the Russian military on Thursday, the Pentagon-funded labs were working on “biological weapons components,” and may have been connected to suspicious outbreaks of dirofilariasis, tuberculosis and avian flu over the past several years. 

If the pathogens had gotten out of the labs, Nebenzia told the UN Security Council, “the scale of impact, including among the population of European countries, in this case is even difficult to imagine. It is possible that even the coronavirus epidemic could pale [in comparison] to this.”

Washington has for years dismissed as “disinformation” Russian claims of biolabs in Ukraine, and said the US was only funding peaceful medical research there. (Through the Pentagon!!!) Earlier this month, however, senior State Department official Victoria Nuland admitted that the US was concerned about Russia potentially taking control of the labs and their contents.

You should maybe have thought of that before placing them in Russia's back yard. Victoria Nuland was involved in the Orange Revolution and the Maidan coup. She served as the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs at the United States Department of State from 2015 to 2017 under Obama, and US Permanent Representative to NATO from 2005 to 2008  (a recycled Deep Stater). She later bragged about spending $5 bn on the Ukraine coup.

US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland last week testified under oath that there were “biological research facilities in Ukraine,” and that the US was assisting Kiev in destroying research materials so they would not get into Russia’s hands.

Because we wouldn't want those Russians to get their hand on good medical research!!!

Meanwhile, the UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu said that the world organization has neither the authority nor the ability to verify the data provided by Russia on the alleged US military biological program in Ukraine.

Russia’s offensive in Ukraine is ‘electroshock’ to NATO

– Macron

France’s president has said he stands by his 2019 characterization of

NATO as ‘brain dead’

French leader Emmanuel Macron speaks during a press conference ahead of the first round of the presidential election

– to be held on 10 April – in Paris, France, March 17, 2022 © AFP / Ludovic Marin/AFP

Russia’s ongoing military offensive in Ukraine has delivered an “electroshock” to NATO, France’s President Emmanuel Macron said during a press conference on Thursday. The remark came in response to a journalist’s question regarding the president’s 2019 characterization of the military alliance as “brain dead,” and whether the French head of state was still of that opinion.

Macron said that he stood by his initial ‘diagnosis,’ taking “full responsibility” for his words; however, according to the French president, Russia’s military campaign against Ukraine has been a wake-up call for NATO.

Macron pointed out that the “war launched by President Putin” at the alliance’s doorstep created an “unusual threat which gives a strategic clarification to NATO.”

He also said that the military alliance in its current form would not cut it, standing by his earlier calls for reform.

In November 2019, Macron told The Economist that the world was witnessing the “brain death of NATO.” The French president also urged Europe to “wake up” after the Trump administration had “turned its back” on European allies, as Macron had put it. He went on to call into question the effectiveness of NATO’s Article Five, under which an attack on one member state would be seen as an attack on the entire military bloc. He concluded that European member states should “reassess the reality of what NATO is,” given America’s shaky commitment to its allies.

At the time, his blunt remarks drew criticism from the likes of then-US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, and then-Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel.

In contrast to his 2019 interview, Macron’s assessment of the situation on Thursday was not all doom and gloom. For example, he emphasized that work to boost the EU’s defense has been underway. According to the French president, at next week’s European Council in Brussels, the bloc’s member states will “conclude” work on its “strategic compass” – an initiative spearheaded by France and aimed at enhancing EU military capabilities. On top of that, Macron noted, a NATO summit in June is expected to “redefine the alliance's frameworks.”

Speaking at the Ottawa Conference on Security and Defense last Wednesday, NATO’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called for a “serious assessment of the longer-term adaptation of NATO – our posture, our presence and also how we can strengthen our ability to reinforce quickly.” The military alliance’s chief said that, in light of Russia’s military campaign against Ukraine, NATO was “faced with a new reality, a new security environment, a new normal.”

NATO could have prevented this war by committing to stop its eastward expansion as was promised many times since Glasnost. Consequently, either NATO is absurdly stupid, or they deliberately wanted a war between Russia and Ukraine.

Whatever NATO proposes to do in June will require increased military spending that will benefit only the military industrial complex, of which Stoltenberg is the chief salesman.

Some NATO member states, such as Germany and Poland, have already announced plans to increase defense spending. Meanwhile, NATO has beefed up its presence on its eastern flank, sending troops and military hardware to Romania.

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Serbian fans list litany of US military campaigns in peace display

Red Star Belgrade fans unveiled the banner before their match against Glasgow Rangers

© Alan Harvey / SNS Group via Getty Images

Fans of Serbian football club Red Star Belgrade issued their own particular message of peace ahead of their European clash with Glasgow Rangers, unveiling banners listing American military incursions on foreign soil spanning more than half a century.

Before kick-off in their Europa League last-16, second leg match in the Serbian capital on Thursday night, home supporters in one section of the Rajko Mitic Stadium produced a display consisting of six rows of text.

Beginning with ‘Korea 1950’ and running to ‘Syria 2011’, the banners listed locations and years coinciding with military action by the US and its allies, with the message at the bottom reading: “All we are saying is give peace a chance.”

Also known as Crvena Zvezda, the Serbian club are sponsored by Russian energy giant Gazprom.

The club’s general director, Zvezdan Terzic, has vowed they will not end the deal despite the Russian company being dropped by the likes of UEFA and German club Schalke 04 in the wake of the military operation in Ukraine. 

Terzic also said Red Star were angered by the recent suspensions of Russian clubs from UEFA and FIFA competitions, noting that Serbian sport had suffered similar sanctions during the Yugoslav conflict.

“We went through this in 1992. There is anti-Russian hysteria in Europe, politics is unnecessarily interfering in sports,” said Terzic earlier in March. 

“We sympathize with the Ukrainian people and the terrible civilian casualties, but the Russian people are close to the Serbs and always will be. Russia is a power that has always been on the Serbian side.”

Elsewhere, Red Star fans have been heard chanting their support for Russia in the stands in recent weeks.

Thursday’s match against Rangers played out amid a typically febrile atmosphere at the 53,000-capacity stadium nicknamed the ‘Marakana’.

The banners showed the NATO interventions in such countries and regions as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Cuba, Vietnam, Panama, Iraq, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia, Libya, Syria and so on.

In 1999, the U.S.-led NATO forces carried out continuous airstrikes for 78 days against Yugoslavia, leaving more than 8,000 civilians dead or injured and nearly 1 million displaced.

South African president blames NATO for Ukraine

President Cyril Ramaphosa says the bloodshed could have been averted

if US-led bloc hadn’t increased instability

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is shown speaking to reporters at a conference last August in Berlin.

© Getty Images / Maja Hitij

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, a potential mediator in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, has faulted NATO for triggering war in the former Soviet republic by expanding eastward onto Moscow’s doorstep.

“The war could have been avoided if NATO had heeded the warnings from amongst its own leaders and officials over the years that its eastward expansion would lead to greater, not less, instability in the region,” Ramaphosa told South African lawmakers on Thursday.

Rather than reaping an expected peace dividend after the Cold War ended in 1991, NATO expanded, adding former Warsaw Pact nations and ex-Soviet republics to its fold, starting with Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic in 1999. 

Another wave came on board in 2004, including Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. Albania and Croatia followed in 2009; then came Montenegro in 2017 and North Macedonia in 2020. Ukraine and Georgia have asked to join the bloc.

Moscow has vehemently opposed NATO’s presence close to its borders, and embarked on a mission to obtain security guarantees that would halt the US-led military bloc’s expansion and bar Kiev from joining its ranks. However, the West ignored Russia’s concerns.

President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” on February 24, with a stated goal to “demilitarize and denazify” the government in Kiev, ensuring that it no longer poses a threat to either Russia or the newly recognized Donbass republics, which have suffered seven years of grueling siege. The US and its NATO allies have accused Russia of starting an “unprovoked” war to gobble up Ukraine.

South Africa abstained from backing the United Nations General Assembly resolution that condemned Russia's military action in Ukraine, and chose to stay neutral alongside 34 other countries, including China, India and Pakistan.

The South African president said it’s important to understand the causes of the crisis, but that doesn’t mean agreeing with the Russian invasion.

“We cannot condone the use of force or violation of international law,” said Ramaphosa. 

The president's latest comments came after he revealed last week that he had been asked to help mediate the negotiations between Moscow and Kiev. Ramaphosa said on Thursday that he has already spoken to Putin, who indicated that he’s eager to end the fighting, and hoped to talk soon with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

“There are those who are insisting that we should take a very adversarial stance and position against Russia,” the South African leader noted on Thursday, without identifying the countries that have pressured him. “The approach that we have chosen to take, which is appreciated by many, is that we are insisting that there should be dialogue. Screaming and shouting is not going to bring an end to this conflict.”

By remaining neutral, Ramaphosa argued, South Africa can make its voice heard, “not only publicly but also to the parties that are involved in the conflict.”

“War, violence never really solves any problems," he added. “It is for this reason that we say that we would prefer and insist that there should be mediation, there should be dialogue and there should be negotiation.”

Ex-South Africa President Faces 16 Counts of Corruption

Corruption is Everywhere - No surprise in South Africa

By Sara Shayanian 

Former South African President Jacob Zuma will face 16 counts of corruption in court, prosecutors said Friday. File photo by Peter Foley/UPI | License Photo

UPI -- Former South African President Jacob Zuma was charged Friday with 16 counts of corruption.

Prosecutor Shaun Abrahams said the former president was charged with fraud, racketeering and money laundering -- and said Zuma's numerous attempts at challenging the charges had failed.

Prosecutors say the charges stem from a $2.5 billion state arms deal and are related to nearly 800 instances of alleged wrongdoing.

"After consideration of the matter, I am of the view that there are reasonable prospects of successful prosecution of Mr. Zuma on the charges listed in the indictment," Abrahams said.

"I am of the view that a trial court would be the most appropriate forum for these issues to be ventilated and to be decided upon."

Zuma, 75, resigned as president last month amid pressure from the African National Congress.

South Africa's leader since 2007, Zuma said he disagreed with the ANC's decision to recall him. Cyril Ramaphosa, the only candidate nominated in South African Parliament, took over as president.

In 2016, Zuma as ordered by South Africa's top court to repay $15 million in public funds he used to upgrade his private home.

Angry S Africa Heading for Famine While Forgiving Zimbabwe Heading for Prosperity

Land expropriation failed miserably in Zimbabwe and the new government has wisely reversed courses

South Africa has learned no lessons from Zimbabwe's descent into poverty and seems determined to follow its course

‘Time for Reconciliation Over’: South Africa Votes to Confiscate White-Owned Land

A worker leaves after working at a farm in Eikenhof, South Africa © Siphiwe Sibeko / Reuters

The South African parliament voted on Tuesday in favor of a motion seeking to change the constitution to allow white-owned land expropriation without compensation.

The motion, which was brought by Julius Malema – the leader of the radical Marxist opposition party, the Economic Freedom Fighters – passed by a wide margin of 241 votes to 83 against. 

Several parties – the Democratic Alliance, Freedom Front Plus, Cope and the African Christian Democratic Party – did not support the motion. The matter has been referred to the parliament’s Constitutional Review Committee, which must report back by August 30.

“The time for reconciliation is over. Now is the time for justice,” Malema told the parliament. “We must ensure that we restore the dignity of our people without compensating the criminals who stole our land.”

South Africa has a population of over 50 million people. According to a 2017 government audit, white people own 72 percent of farmland.

Last week, South Africa’s new president, Cyril Ramaphosa, pledged to return the lands owned by white farmers since the 1600s to the black citizens of the country. He added that food production and security must be preserved.

The official opposition Democratic Alliance party (DA) has criticized the motion, saying it will undermine property rights and scare off potential investors.

The DA’s Thandeka Mbabama told the parliament that expropriation without compensation was a way to divert attention from the failure by successive ANC-led (African National Congress) governments.

“It is shocking that at the current rate it will take 35 years to finalize (land) restitution claims lodged before 1998,” said Mbabama, who is deputy shadow minister for rural development and land reform.

It’s been more than two decades since the end of apartheid in the 1990s, and the ruling ANC party is still trying to tackle racial disparities in land ownership in South Africa.

The president of farmers’ group the Transvaal Agricultural Union, Louis Meintjes, warned the country risks going down the same route as Zimbabwe, which plunged into famine after a government-sanctioned purge of white farmers in the 2000s.

“Where in the world has expropriation without compensation coupled to the waste of agricultural land, resulted in foreign confidence, economic growth and increased food production?” Meintjes said, as cited by Australia’s news.com.au.

“If Mr Ramaphosa is set on creating an untenable situation, he should actively create circumstances which will promote famine. His promise to expropriate land without compensation sows the seed for revolution. Expropriation without compensation is theft.”

White farmer gets land back under Zimbabwe's new leader

Farmer Darryn Smart and his family are welcomed back to their farm by workers and community members CREDIT:  FARAI MUTSAKA/AP

A white Zimbabwean farmer evicted by the government of Robert Mugabe has returned to a hero's welcome as the first to get his land back under the new president, in a sign of reform on an issue that had hastened the country's international isolation.

With a military escort, Robert Smart made his way into Lesbury farm about 124 miles east of the capital, Harare, on Thursday to cheers and song by dozens of workers and community members.

Such scenes were once unthinkable in a country where land ownership is an emotional issue with political and racial overtones.

"We have come to reclaim our farm," sang black women and men, rushing into the compound.

Two decades ago, their arrival would have meant that Smart and his family would have to leave. Ruling Zanu-PF party supporters, led by veterans of the 1970s war against white minority rule, evicted many of Zimbabwe's white farmers under an often violent land reform program led by Mugabe.

Farmers, Darryn, left and Robert Smart, right, are welcomed back to their farm 

CREDIT:  FARAI MUTSAKA/AP

Whites make up less than one per cent of the southern African country's population, but they owned huge tracts of land while blacks remained in largely unproductive areas.

The evictions were meant to address colonial land ownership imbalances skewed against blacks, Mugabe said. Some in the international community responded with outrage and sanctions.

Of the roughly 4,500 white farmers before the land reforms began in 2000, only a few hundred are left.

But Mugabe is gone, resigning last month after the military and ruling party turned against him amid fears that his wife was positioning herself to take power. New President Emmerson Mnangagwa, a longtime Mugabe ally but stung by his firing as vice president, has promised to undo some land reforms as he seeks to revive the once-prosperous economy.

Mr Smart is the first to have his farm returned. On Thursday, some war veterans and local traditional leaders joined farm workers and villagers in song to welcome his family home.

"Oh, Darryn," one woman cried, dashing to embrace Mr Smart's son.

In a flash, dozens followed her. Some ululated, and others waved triumphant fists in the air. "I am ecstatic. Words cannot describe the feeling," Darryn told The Associated Press.

Smart's return, facilitated by Mnangagwa's government, could mark a new turn in the politics of land ownership. During his inauguration last month, Mnangagwa described the land reform as "inevitable," calling land management key to economic recovery.

Months before an election scheduled for August 2018 at the latest, the new president is desperate to bring back foreign investors and resolve a severe currency shortage, mass unemployment and dramatic price increases.

Zimbabwe is mainly agricultural, with 80 percent of the population depending on it for their livelihoods, according to government figures.

Earlier this month, deputy finance minister Terrence Mukupe traveled to neighboring Zambia to engage former white Zimbabwean farmers who have settled there.

New South African President Wants to Seize Land from White Farmers Without Compensation

Corruption is Everywhere - will it be in Ramaphosa's South Africa?

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa © Mike Hutchings / Reuters

South Africa’s new president, Cyril Ramaphosa, has pledged to return the lands owned by white farmers since the 1600s to the black citizens of the country.

The government plans to accelerate land redistribution through expropriation without compensation.

“The expropriation of land without compensation is envisaged as one of the measures that we will use to accelerate the redistribution of land to black South Africans,” said Ramaphosa, who was sworn into office to succeed Jacob Zuma as president last week.

The millionaire ex-businessman Ramaphosa promised that land expropriation operations will not be a “smash and grab” exercise and promised to handle the matter properly, adding that people “must see this process as an opportunity.”

“No-one is saying that land must be taken away from our people,” he said, “Rather, it is how we can make sure that our people have equitable access to land and security of tenure. We must see this process of accelerated land redistribution as an opportunity and not as a threat,” he added during a speech to parliament on Tuesday.

Such a drastic move would not damage the country’s agriculture or economy, the South African president promised.  

“We will handle it with responsibility. We will handle it in a way that will not damage our economy, that is not going to damage agricultural production,” he said.

This I gotta see!

More than two decades after the end of apartheid in the 1990s, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party is under pressure to tackle racial disparities in land ownership in South Africa. The country is home to over 50 million people, with whites owning most of the land.

According to a recent study, black South Africans constitute 79 percent of the population, but directly own only 1.2 percent of the country’s rural land. Meanwhile, white South Africans, who constitute 9 percent of the country’s population, directly own 23.6 percent of its rural land, and 11.4 percent of land in towns and cities, according to the Land Audit report.

Zimbabwe land grab

A similar program of land redistribution was carried out by then-Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Thousands of white farmers were forced from their lands.

However, food production plummeted without the experienced farmers’ contribution, and Zimbabwe’s economy suffered massively. In 2010, the Guardian reported that Mugabe used land reform to reward his allies rather than ordinary black Zimbabweans. 

In 2016, Mugabe signed a decree that foreign companies would face closure unless they sold or gave up 51 percent of their shares.

Speaking about the redistribution of land in his country, Ramaphosa said that “in dealing with this complex matter” South Africa would not “make the mistakes that others have made.”

Good luck with that, Cyril!

R1 Million Reward for Info Leading to the Arrest of the Guptas and Zuma’s Son

Corruption is Everywhere - Certainly in South Africa

But Ramaphosa appears determined to clean it up - God bless him!

The reward pool for information leading to the arrest of the Gupta brothers and former president Jacob Zuma’s son Duduzane, has now been boosted to R1 million (about $86,000 USD).

This follows the announcement from the non-profit, Forensics for Justice this week that a R100,000 would be paid out for information leading the arrest of Ajay Gupta, who is considered a fugitive on the run by the Hawks.

The Hawks are South Africa's Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) which targets organized crime, economic crime, corruption, and other serious crime referred to it by the President or the South African Police Service

On Saturday, FFJ put out a further notice, adding a R100,000 reward each for Ajay Gupta’s alleged conspirators, namely his brothers Atul Gupta and Rajesh (Tony) Gupta, as well as their business associate Duduzane Zuma.

If all four are arrested on the same information, a further bonus of R100,000 will be paid out, FFJ said, bringing the total to R500,000.

Responding to the FFJ’s reward, CEO of Sygnia, vocal critic of the Guptas and state capture opponent, Magda Wierzycka said she would match the reward, rand for rand, effectively doubling the total reward pool to R1 million.

“South Africans, contribute your spy skills. We need these crooks in jail where they belong. As soon as possible,” she said.

Despite calls for information relating to the arrest of the other Gupta brothers, so far the Hawks have only confirmed that there is a manhunt on to arrest Ajay Gupta, the patriarch of the family.

Hawks spokesperson Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi confirmed on Friday that Ajay was in the country and that the unit was negotiating with the security company protecting him.

However, he dismissed reports that Atul and Rajesh were also being sought.

Ajay Gupta and Duduzane Zuma are wanted in connection with the Free State dairy project that is currently at the centre of fraud, corruption and money laundering charges against Free State government and Gupta associates.

The Gupta family and their associates – including government the officials – allegedly received over R100 million in funds unlawfully through the project, which only got 1% of the reported R220 million budgeted to get the farming project going.

Eight accused, including former Oakbay chief executives Varun Gupta and Nazeem Howa, as well as current its CEO Ronica Ragavan, we arrested in a Hawks raid on Wednesday morning.

They appeared in the Bloemfontein Magistrates Court on Thursday, where they applied for and were granted bail for between R10,000 and R200,000.

Seems like pretty cheap bail for multi-millionaires. A good opportunity to run?

“We need as many people as possible to step up and help find Ajay Gupta. While it is extremely unlikely that any of the Gupta family will ever come back to South Africa voluntarily, we at Forensics for Justice believe that the one that’s here, must stay here and face the music. As a result of the reward, we have already started receiving information, which we have passed on to the Hawks,” FFJ said.

Anyone with information can contact the group at 0800 118 118 or tweet them @FfJZA or e-mail sarah.trent@forensicsforjustice.org.

And if he's arrested will you let him out on bail so he can join his family?