The controversial Gupta family, with close ties to President Jacob Zuma, sought to turn South Africa into a “semi-colonial playground”, the South African Communist Party (SACP) in Gauteng said on Tuesday.

“Just as the mining monopolies of the imperialist western countries left a legacy of mining sink holes and polluted dumps, the Gupta dynasty will leave our country with a junk credit rating,” provincial secretary Jacob Mamabolo said.

“The Gupta class project, at the core of which is the foreign Gupta dynasty, seeks to turn our country and hard worn democracy into a semi-colonial playground to pursue its backward, corrupt and primitive accumulation regime finally destined for Dubai, yet another foreign destination.”

The Gupta family has in recent times been accused of wielding power over Zuma and decisions on his executive, more so after the Public Protector’s ‘State of Capture’ report released last year.

The recent Cabinet reshuffle that saw Pravin Gordhan and his deputy Mcebisi Jonas fired from national Treasury was seen by Zuma’s critics as a move by the family to have unfettered access the country’s purse.

The Guptas were further attempting to capture the country’s institutions and its banking system through the establishment of their own bank, said Mamabolo.

“We noted desperate attempts to acquire the overseas Habib Bank, acting in cahoots with the Venda Burial Society (VBS) Mutual Bank that loaned President Zuma R7.8-million as part of the R264-million settlement on the Nkandla matter, following Public Protector’s remedial action,” Mamabolo said.

“We are also aware that as a short and quick route to riches, VBS is engaging the 6.8-million member Twelve Apostle Church to issue them with ATM cards to place the new bank in the same “premier league” as the now junk Absa, Standard Bank, Nedbank and Capitec. We are fully aware that whilst the Gupta dynasty is desperate for a commercial bank that meet its illicit and corrupt dealings, it also seeks to re-position the new bank for the capture of the social grants.”

As part of its efforts to get Zuma to resign and against the Gupta family influence, the SACP would picket outside the Treasury offices in Pretoria next week Friday, said Mamabolo.