Gupta Family Plans to Stay in South Africa and Not ‘Abandon Ship’

JOHANNESBURG – In what is becoming a conversation through the media, the Gupta Family has responded to statements made on Sunday by Democratic Alliance (DA) Shadow Minister, David Maynier… warning that this media narrative being metered out by Maynier “without any basis of wrong-doing” could put others off investing in South Africa.

Following the Gupta Family announcement that they would sell all their business shareholdings in South Africa by the end of 2016, Maynier had claimed – in a piece entitled “The Guptas are Like Rats Abandoning a Sinking Ship in South Africa” – that “things have evidently reached a “tipping point” and the Gupta family has decided that it’s in their best interests to abandon ship in South Africa.”

In response to a Fin24 headline in which the Guptas said they were only selling their business concerns and would not be personally leaving, Maynier tweeted: “Um, really? Guptas are proudly SA citizens”.

On Sunday evening the Gupta Family said they’d become accustomed to Maynier’s “shoot from the hip” approach, but whilst they didn’t wish to enter the political arena, his comments could not go unanswered.

“Despite the Family making it very clear that they remain South African citizens and plan to continue living in this country, Maynier attempts to grab media headlines by adopting emotive and dramatic language around the family leaving the country,” the said.

The Family statement also said “it is disingenuous for Maynier to suggest that our companies will not participate as required in any investigation” and warned of the “impact of his decision [and ongoing campaign against the Family] on foreign direct investment in our country as we believe many potential investors will be concerned about the treatment meted out to the family through a media narrative without any basis of wrong-doing.

“Finally, we appeal to Maynier to not use us as a football in his party-political battles.”

Maynier responded with a tweet: “The Guptas just switched to rapid-fire on Twitter!”