The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) on Wednesday reiterated that the Gupta family “must leave tbe country” and listed 25 reasons for their call.

The first was an allegation that the family, whom President Jacob Zuma acknowledges as friends and are business partners of his son, was influencing decision-making on the country’s contested nuclear power expansion programme.

“The Guptas are influencing Zuma on the R1-trillion nuclear deal: after they acquired uranium mines, they stand to benefit greatly from the deal through supplying uranium. Zuma has been advised that the country cannot afford this nuclear deal, but because the Guptas family stands to benefit, it is being forced through,” EFF spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi said.

“The nuclear deal will plunge South Africa into a massive fiscal crisis, collapsing South Africa’s currency, ratings, and ability to provide basic services to its people.”

Ndlozi went on to claim that Zuma axed Nhlanhla Nene as finance minister late last year “because the Guptas said so” and that the family exerted control over key parastatals including Eskom, Transnet, South African Airways and, of late, Denel.

A spokesperson for the Gupta family this week confirmed that they have a minority interest in a joint-venture partnership that the state-owned arms manufacturing company has in Asia.

The EFF claimed that the Guptas’s influence extended to the awarding of mining licences by government.

“In their network of influence, they have premiers of the Free State and North West provinces, ministers, chairpersons and chief executive officers of state-owned enterprises. They also have control over many critical decisions that they, and the puppets they control, financially benefit from,” Ndlozi said.