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Chancellor House deals probed by ANC: The African National Congress has ordered an audit of all empowerment deals and tenders that were received by its investment company, Chancellor House, media reports said on Sunday. Earlier this month, the Mail & Guardian reported that Chancellor House would exit two multibillion-rand contracts with Eskom.
Are we winning the war on corruption?: The Mail & Guardian looks at 10 well-publicised cases to see if the government is getting to grips with graft.
From Oilgate to Bosasa: 10 reports that shook SA: The Mail & Guardian is synonymous with the exposé -- it's part of our brand, our professional lifeblood.
Site of Mandela's law office faces redevelopment: Officials are considering a plan to demolish Chancellor House -- Nelson Mandela's former law office -- and turn the area into an "open urban space".
Cosatu welcomes Public Protector finding on Moosa: Cosatu expressed concern after the Public Protector found that former Eskom chairperson Valli Moosa had acted improperly when awarding a contract.
Zille says ANC stands to make R1bn from Medupi: The ANC stands to earn R1-billion if the World Bank grants Eskom a loan to finance work on the Medupi power station.
Residents complain to World Bank about Eskom loan: Limpopo residents on Tuesday filed a complaint with the World Bank about the $3,75bn loan sought by Eskom to help finance the Medudi power plant.
Eskom loan: Govt 'mindful' of Chancellor House concerns: Government is "mindful" of concerns raised about the Chancellor House-Hitachi contract related to Eskom's loan application to the World Bank.
'Chancellor House not selling Hitachi stake': It was not up to the ANC to decide whether its investment arm, Chancellor House, should get rid of its stake in Hitachi, Gwede Mantashe said.
Opposition slams ANC 'about-turn' on Hitachi: Opposition parties have lambasted the ANC's turnaround on its investment in Hitachi, saying the ruling party is "playing the country for fools".

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The scoop that went unheard

Chancellor House, the ANC's funding front, is the company on everyone's lips these days, given its stake in power utility Eskom. The penny has finally dropped on a story that the Mail & Guardian exposed as far back as 2006.

Read Stefaans Brümmer's blog about the development of the story from back when we first revealed that the company was a funding front for the ruling party -- but no one seemed to notice: Chancellor House and the art of grabbing.

Brümmer, together with Vicky Robinson, uncovered the ANC's secret stake in an intense investigation with the Institute for Security Studies.

The ANC's new funding front

<The oligarch, the ANC and the manganese deal

Other Chancellor House investments

The problem with ANC Inc

Download the full ISS occasional paper, SA Democracy Incorporated: Corporate Fronts and Political Party Funding here

Our investigations came thick and fast after that. In 2007 we revealed that one of South Africa's largest state contracts to date was awarded to a consortium that included the ANC's funding company: ANC front wins huge state tender. Soon after came the second part of the story: ANC's power grab, which showed that the consortium had signed another mega contract with Eskom, almost doubling the ruling party’s stake in -- and expected profit from -- the parastatal’s drive to build new power stations.

Then came the bombshell. In February 2008 the M&G disclosed that, while chairperson of the Eskom board, former ANC Cabinet minister Valli Moosa presided over the parastatal, giving contracts worth billions to Chancellor House -- while also serving on the ANC's fundraising committee.

Again Brümmer pushed South Africans to question how their money was being spent:Valli's paradox

More articles were written, and, with time, the dogged work of our investigative reporters began to attract more attention. In February 2008 the newly-elected ANC leadership committed to exiting the deals. It turned out to be a vain promise. Meanwhile in Moosa's lack of candour: "Public Protector Lawrence Mushwana has vindicated a Mail & Guardian exposé of the conflict of interest in the award of a multibillion rand Eskom tender to a company in which the ANC has an interest."

The country now understands the awful implications of that investigation this newspaper broke in 2006. It may have gone down like a lead balloon then, but four years later South Africans are beginning to understand the importance of investigating how public money is spent. The Mail & Guardian, through our new investigative unit amaBhungane, will continue to do just that.

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