Guptas not spoilt for choice with friends, but do have MultiChoice

And so, we stumble to an end that’s not an end. We’ll only know who wins in 2019, and whether there’d be anything left to save. For now, the land is ruled by self-anointed queens, untouchable misogynists, and an assortment of dynasties and bastards. And, of course, the three dragons — hunted, unhinged and dangerously unstable.

It’s fun, but pointless, to try to match every Game of Thrones character with a South African, naturalised or otherwise. Suffice to say that Granny Gupta, mother of dragons, hopefully looks into mirrors and weeps.


If you’re missing Game of Thrones and have an appetite for implausible tales, you can always tune in to ANN7. Like Game of Thrones, it is a DStv exclusive.
But ANN7 barely matters anymore. It’s become just the latest organisation trying to get some distance from the Guptas.
It has become impossible to find a single company willing to defend doing business with the brothers.
Unless, of course, you ask MultiChoice. Its continued support is another exclusive from the people who bring you DStv.

When this season of Game of Thrones started, I called on MultiChoice to take the nation into its confidence. Why does it still choose to enable SA’s fake-news network? Surely, as every single company stops doing business with the Guptas, MultiChoice would find it in itself to take SA’s side?

The Guptas are now so toxic that even the toxic have dropped them. The brothers have even been dropped by Trillian Capital! Trillian! I thought Trillian was the Guptas. Apparently not.

That whole business with Tegeta and Optimum and Glencore and the Eskom prepayment of R500m, apparently it has all cast Trillian in an unflattering light. This has had "a negative impact on the ability of Trillian Capital Partners and its staff to reach their full potential", the company said when it announced the buyout of majority shareholder Salim Essa, who is a key Gupta ally.
But back to MultiChoice, which did respond to my heartfelt invitation, but will not be unburdening itself of ANN7. It has a "legally binding agreement with ANN7", it said, before reminding us that it is a "responsible corporate citizen". No argument there; it is comprehensively responsible for enabling Gupta TV’s deliberate destabilisation of the country. I would like to thank MultiChoice for the clarification. It has given SA huge clarity about the kind of company it is — one that believes it has no responsibility to South Africans. MultiChoice might claim to be "Enriching Lives", but that could be more particularly stated as "Enriching Some Very Specific Lives".

Of course, MultiChoice is wholly owned by Naspers, the oldest, whitest, monopoliest capital of them all. It is satisfying to see Naspers facing immense shareholder pressure over the massive money the owners decide to pay themselves. Thanks to a special class of shares in the company, a handful of gentlemen control 68% of the Naspers shareholder vote, Business Day reports.
These special Naspers shares, according to the report, "appear to be controlled through a complex web of holdings by Naspers chairman Koos Bekker, veteran director Cobus Stofberg and Sanlam". Supporters of ANN7 have been praising MultiChoice for its commitment to diversity and media freedom. They have been slow in joining the dots.

To be clear, I do not call for the closure of ANN7. What will happen to the 7,500 people it claims to employ? Also, how does it fit all those people into some buildings that appear to be the size of a somewhat large Pick n Pay?

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