From Russia with very expensive love - Karyn Maughan on SA's bombed nuclear deal

Jacob Zuma's presidency will be remembered for the wholesale looting of South Africa's fiscus by him, his family, his friends the Guptas, and the political party he led - but don't forget how close we came to indebting future generations with a Russian nuclear deal. The former President was hellbent on pushing the deal through despite National Treasury explaining we had no foreseeable way to fund it. Some very smart litigation by NGO Earthlife Africa ultimately scuppered the deal which the Energy Department was attempting to sneak through. In their new tell-all book, Nuclear: Inside South Africa's Secret Deal, Karyn Maughan and Kirsten Pearson make the minutiae of the R1tn nuclear deal with Russia understandable and digestible. The authors bring to life the narrative of those behind the failed nuclear project including interviews with Zuma himself, the former Energy Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson, and others. In this interview with Maughan, BizNews deputy editor Michael Appel seeks to better understand the dynamics behind the failed nuclear deal. Plus, an update on the current state of Zuma's arms deal corruption trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices