Vavi on Guptagate: ‘There can be no worse insult to the nation than that’

Of all the scandals to engulf our current administration, Guptagate, the personal use of the Waterkloof Airforce Base by the Gupta family, stands out for its sheer effrontery. Atul Gupta was perfectly confident welcoming his guests to the country at the base, no one has managed to point a smoking gun at President Jacob Zuma for the affair, and the only person to take any responsibility was "demoted" to the position of Ambassador to the Netherlands. And yet, it is the symbol of so much that is wrong with our nation. Which means that there are some organisations, like Cosatu, which have to comment on what's happened, because they're horrified, and simply because their constituencies drive them there. And there are other people, like Gwede Mantashe, who would rather not comment at all, but their earlier handling of this forces them to do so. By STEPHEN GROOTES.