TechCentralTechCentral
    Facebook Twitter YouTube LinkedIn
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentral TechCentral
    NEWSLETTER
    • News

      Google’s Equiano cable lands in Namibia

      3 July 2022

      More stage-6 load shedding on the cards for this week

      3 July 2022

      Load shedding nears previous annual record – with six months to go

      3 July 2022

      Unlawful Eskom strike costing South Africa three stages of load shedding

      1 July 2022

      Striking Eskom workers will face consequences: De Ruyter

      1 July 2022
    • World

      EU to impose wide-ranging new rules on the crypto industry

      3 July 2022

      Crypto hedge fund Three Arrows files for bankruptcy

      3 July 2022

      Meta girds for ‘fierce’ headwinds

      1 July 2022

      Graphics card prices plummet as crypto demand dries up

      30 June 2022

      Bitcoin just had its worst quarter in a decade

      30 June 2022
    • In-depth

      The NFT party is over

      30 June 2022

      The great crypto crash: the fallout, and what happens next

      22 June 2022

      Goodbye, Internet Explorer – you really won’t be missed

      19 June 2022

      Oracle’s database dominance threatened by rise of cloud-first rivals

      13 June 2022

      Everything Apple announced at WWDC – in less than 500 words

      7 June 2022
    • Podcasts

      How your organisation can triage its information security risk

      22 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E06 – ‘Apple Silicon’

      15 June 2022

      The youth might just save us

      15 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E05 – ‘Nvidia: The Green Goblin’

      8 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E04 – ‘The story of Intel – part 2’

      1 June 2022
    • Opinion

      Has South Africa’s advertising industry lost its way?

      21 June 2022

      Rob Lith: What Icasa’s spectrum auction means for SA companies

      13 June 2022

      A proposed solution to crypto’s stablecoin problem

      19 May 2022

      From spectrum to roads, why fixing SA’s problems is an uphill battle

      19 April 2022

      How AI is being deployed in the fight against cybercriminals

      8 April 2022
    • Company Hubs
      • 1-grid
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Amplitude
      • Atvance Intellect
      • Axiz
      • BOATech
      • CallMiner
      • Digital Generation
      • E4
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • IBM
      • Kyocera Document Solutions
      • Microsoft
      • Nutanix
      • One Trust
      • Pinnacle
      • Skybox Security
      • SkyWire
      • Tarsus on Demand
      • Videri Digital
      • Zendesk
    • Sections
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud computing
      • Consumer electronics
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Energy
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Motoring and transport
      • Public sector
      • Science
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home»News»Zille wants New Age probe

    Zille wants New Age probe

    News By Editor30 January 2013
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    Helen Zille
    Helen Zille

    The Democratic Alliance wants a commission of inquiry to probe funding of The New Age newspaper, party leader Helen Zille said on Wednesday.

    “I have today written to President Jacob Zuma to request that he appoint a judicial commission of inquiry, headed by a retired judge, to investigate the funding of The New Age,” Zille told reporters at Parliament.

    She said the newspaper was almost entirely funded with taxpayers’ money, and claimed 77% of its advertising revenue came from national and provincial government departments, and state entities.

    She drew parallels with the apartheid-era scandal involving The Citizen, in which state money was used to set up and fund the newspaper.

    “All the evidence points to the same thing: the ANC is using public money, both overtly and covertly, to fund a newspaper which is openly favourable to the government.”

    Zille and New Age executives have been engaged in a public spat, after she refused to speak at one of their business breakfasts because it was being funded with public money.

    She hit back when she was accused of hypocrisy after it emerged she had accepted money from an executive linked to the Gupta family. The New Age is owned by a Gupta concern and the family is believed to have close ties to Zuma.

    A letter from Zille to Atul Gupta thanking him for his donations was made public this week.

    The letter reads: “Dear Mr Gupta… Thank you so much for your generous donation to the Democratic Alliance.”

    Zille did not deny sending the letter, but said it was mistakenly sent before she realised that a R200 000 cheque given to her in 2009 did not come from Sahara Computers, of which Gupta is MD.

    She said it was a personal cheque from Stefan Nel, a Sahara executive director. Until now, Zille has not named the donor, citing a promise to maintain confidentiality.

    Zille said Nel later wrote another cheque for R100 000 to the DA. The party also received an electronic transfer of R100 000 from Islandsite Investments, which is also linked to the Gupta family.

    Zille insisted there was nothing wrong with the donations, as there was no scandal involving the Guptas when the money was accepted (in 2009 and early 2010).

    She later instructed the DA’s fundraising department “to have nothing to do with the Gupta family or any of their companies”.

    “Early in 2011 when I started getting concerned they [the Guptas] may be channelling money to the DA via Mr Nel, I gave instructions, that’s in the file, [that there will be] no more fundraising from Mr Nel. It’s all recorded.”

    Zille said the DA would not return any of the money.  — Sapa

    Read more: Political storm over Telkom-funded breakfasts and Guptas score in Telkom bonanza

    • Image: World Economic Forum
    Atul Gupta Helen Zille Jacob Zuma
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    Previous ArticleFNB launches app for BlackBerry 10
    Next Article Cell C steps up mobile price war

    Related Posts

    Google’s Equiano cable lands in Namibia

    3 July 2022

    More stage-6 load shedding on the cards for this week

    3 July 2022

    Load shedding nears previous annual record – with six months to go

    3 July 2022
    Add A Comment

    Comments are closed.

    Promoted

    Billetterie simplifies interactions between law firms and clients

    30 June 2022

    Think herding cats is tricky? Try herding a cloud

    29 June 2022

    How your business can help hybrid workers effectively

    28 June 2022
    Opinion

    Has South Africa’s advertising industry lost its way?

    21 June 2022

    Rob Lith: What Icasa’s spectrum auction means for SA companies

    13 June 2022

    A proposed solution to crypto’s stablecoin problem

    19 May 2022

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2022 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.