How organised crime is blighting South Africa’s economy
The withering of the state has led to the blossoming of the underworld—and vice versa
Last year Gold Fields announced it would start building a solar plant to help power South Deep, one of the largest gold mines in the world. Soon afterwards, the South African mining firm got messages from several self-styled “business forums”, a euphemism belying their real interest: extortion. The forums demanded a cut of the contract to construct the plant. They followed up with texts to employees and unauthorised visits to the mine, which lies just outside Johannesburg.
This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “The murky side of the rainbow nation”
From the October 22nd 2022 edition
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