The long-suffering consumer of banking services has reason to feel violated.
The news this week that the Competition Commission of South Africa unearthed collusion among 17 banking institutions, including three big local banks, is extremely worrying.
The Commission acted with the necessary haste and referred the case to the Tribunal.
The long-suffering consumer of banking services, who is already saddled with a burden of charges each time he transacts, has reason to feel violated by the banks who are now being investigating for price-fixing in the trading of forex.
These shenanigans have reportedly been happening since 2007 when they began to collude on said prices.
The Tribunal must now throw the book at the culprits and prosecute without fear or favour. According to industry experts the rand was hugely impacted as a result of this skulduggery by the very banks trusted with the fiduciary duty to look after the wealth of the consumer.
This is as unforgivable as the actions of the cartels who operated with impunity in the construction industry, apportioning to themselves huge chunks of the 2010 Fifa World Cup budget.
The banks too must not get away with a slap on the wrist.
We expect no charity of course from such overseas blood-suckers as JP Morgan, BNP Paribas and Merrill Lynch who are in the business of milking Africa’s coffers dry.
But, the greed of capitalism aside, we expected better from our “own”, like Investec, Standard Bank and Absa.
We expected them to be ad idem with the national project to firm up the economy, not steal from us, as collusion virtually is theft.
Contravening the laws of any sovereign state, as they have done with the Competition Act, should be punishable by heavy sanction.
They are as guilty as the common rogue who steals up on unsuspecting victims in dark alleys to rob them of their hard-earned cash.
We doff our hats to Commissioner Tembinkosi Bonakele and his team who have done a sterling job bringing these culprits to book.
But even more unsettling is the chorus that now emits from among the ranks of the captured that the latest developments vindicate their call for a probe into banks.
The sooner those like Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane, Progressive Professionals Forum head Mzwanele Manyi and Black Land First loudmouth Andile Mngxitama sit down, the better.
Before the ink could dry on the statement of the Competition Commission, these Gupta protégés had already pronounced on how unfair the banks have been by closing the Gupta business accounts.
The National African Federated Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Nafcoc) also called for the setting up of a black bank amidst the fanfare of the Competition Commission announcement.
But before we go further, maybe Nafcoc will do South Africans the honour of explaining why the African Bank failed to fly under their watch.
Black business folk, from as far back as the stewardship of Dr Sam Motsuenyane, have consistently failed to get the African Bank to play with the big boys.
It sounds hollow that they should today call for a new black bank. The Tribunal will deal with the transgressions of the banks. But this does not mean we should exonerate the Guptas and see them suddenly as victims. They are not.
We still need to get to the bottom of the 72 suspicious transactions of between R5 000 and R1.3billion flagged by the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) in the Gupta accounts. These transactions totalled just around R6bn, a figure once bandied about in Parliament by EFF leader Julius Malema.
The Guptas have turned honest men like Brian Molefe into cheap liars, what with his Saxonwold shebeen claim.
The unlawful actions of the banks do not absolve the Guptas of blame.