Research Catalog

Title

Licence to loot : how the plunder of Eskom and other parastatals almost sank South Africa / Stephan Hofstatter.

Author

Hofstätter, Stephan

Publication

• Cape Town, South Africa : Penguin Books, Penguin Random House South Africa (Pty) Ltd, 2018.
• ©2018

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xiii, 278 pages; 20 cm

Summary

• Eskom, the giant power utility that drives the economy, holds the key to inclusive growth and shared prosperity in South Africa. Instead it has become the site of corruption so rampant that it threatens the entire country's wellbeing. Award-winning journalist Stephan Hofstatter's hard-hitting investigation traces the genesis of the Eskom looting spree from Transnet, where the blueprint for parastatal plunder was developed and refined with the help of top-dollar consultancies. From there he explores how the Gupta family extracted billions in suspected kickbacks from state contracts and scored hugely inflated coal contracts from backroom deals, and examines how Eskom's top brass enriched themselves and their families at the power utility's expense. Licence to Loot delves into the secrets of the fixers, deal makers and bribe masters behind this epic pillaging of the public purse, and maps out the intricate network of executives, board members and cabinet ministers who facilitated it. From clandestine meetings in London hotel rooms and visits to African dictators, to offshore tax havens, secret shell companies and private jets worth millions of dollars - not to mention a secret Dubai bolthole fit for a fleeing president - this book lifts the lid on a complex looting scheme that almost sank the South African economy -- back cover.
• Stephan Hofstatter is an award-winning investigative journalist at 'Business Day' and the 'Financial Mail' with a long track record of uncovering corruption at state entities. His career spans almost two decades, during which he has worked or written for various publications, including the 'Sunday Times', 'Mail & Guardian', 'Farmer's Weekly', 'GQ magazine' and 'Der Tagesspiegel', and contributed to two books by renowned photographer Jürgen Schadeberg. His investigations have won more than a dozen local and international awards and have led directly to the removal of senior state officials and cabinet ministers. Stephan has twice been the recipient of the Taco Kuiper award for investigative journalism and has received five Journalist of the Year awards -- back cover.

Subject

• Eskom (Firm)
• Government business enterprises > South Africa
• Government business enterprises > Corrupt practices > South Africa
• Political corruption > South Africa
• Corruption > South Africa
• Political corruption
• Government business enterprises > Corrupt practices
• Corruption
• Government business enterprises
• South Africa

Note

• Includes notes and index.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contents

Zuma's Dubai bolthole ; President for hire ; The DRC moment ; What the driver saw ; Trains and planes ; Sharing the spoils ; Indecent proposal ; Making hay ; Turn off the lights ; Tsotsi in the boardroom ; Stacking the deck ; Engineered emergency ; Trillian's billions ; Show me the money ; Things fall apart ; "A brazen thief" ; Secrets and lies ; Tea money ; On the run ; Garden of hope ; Notes ; Index.

Call Number

ReCAP 19-3433

ISBN

• 1776093127
• 9781776093120

OCLC

1059577227

Author

Hofstätter, Stephan, author.

Title

Licence to loot : how the plunder of Eskom and other parastatals almost sank South Africa / Stephan Hofstatter.

Publisher

Cape Town, South Africa : Penguin Books, Penguin Random House South Africa (Pty) Ltd, 2018.

Copyright Date

©2018

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Research Call Number

ReCAP 19-3433