‘Drop Gordhan charge’s:

At least 80 heads of top South African firms including Anglo American, Barclays Africa Group and Naspers want fraud charges against Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan to be dropped.

The top executives of mostly-listed firms in Africa’s most industrialised country - ranging from mining, media, retail and banking - said in a newspaper advertisement on Sunday that political wrangling was damaging an already stalling economy at a time the country faced a sovereign credit downgrade.

“We stand as one for the rule of law and against the decision to prosecute the Minister of Finance on charges that are, according to the preponderance of expert legal opinion, without factual or legal foundation,” they declared. (RTRS)