Parties in the dark over Zuma’s recall of Gordhan
Parties in Parliament watched developments keenly on the future of Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan as speculation continued to abound on Tuesday that he could be replaced.
In an unprecedented move this week, President Jacob Zuma recalled Gordhan home from an investment road show in the UK and US. This sparked speculation that a Cabinet reshuffle was imminent and rattled the financial markets.
“We have long said Zuma is hellbent on looting state coffers for himself and his associates, the Guptas,” said EFF spokesman Mbuyiseni Ndlozi.
“He will stop at nothing and we will not be shocked if he removes Pravin,” he said.
Speculation is that Zuma wants to replace Gordhan with former Eskom boss and now ANC MP Brian Molefe.
Molefe quit Eskom following a report by then public protector Thuli Madonsela, in which he was accused of favouring the Gupta family, which is in business with Zuma’s son, in coal supply contracts.
ANC MP and finance committee member Sfiso Buthelezi — once mooted as a replacement for Gordhan — said he had not heard anything about the finance minister being removed and, like everyone, was watching developments keenly.
Pule Mabe, also an ANC member of the committee, said no mention of Gordhan’s removal had been made at the ANC’s national executive committee meeting at the weekend. Mabe said Gordhan was at the NEC meeting and there were no undercurrents suggesting he was on his way out.
ANC chief whip Jackson Mthembu said: “Caucus has not yet met, so we haven’t discussed the recall of the finance minister to the country. It is not a matter of caucus and it would not be in the ambit of the caucus to enter the realm of the president and ministers. We have not met and, therefore, have not formulated a view on the matter.”
DA MP and finance spokesman David Maynier said Zuma’s “bizarre” decision to recall Gordhan and his Treasury team home must have severely compromised international investor confidence and had triggered speculation that the minister was about to be fired.
“However, since issuing the bizarre instruction without any explanation there has been absolute ‘radio silence’, which proves that President Jacob Zuma has learnt nothing from his reckless and disastrous handling of ‘9/12’ [when then finance minister Nhlanhla Nene was fired] and that either he does not care, or he does not understand the consequences of his decisions for the economy in SA.”
Maynier said if Zuma issued the instruction to cancel the road show for a reason other than a Cabinet reshuffle, “then why does he simply not tell SA”?
Maynier also said Zuma apparently still had an appetite to establish a commission of inquiry into the banking sector following the closure of the Gupta accounts.
In a written response to a parliamentary question on Tuesday, Zuma said: “I am not considering appointing a commission of inquiry at the moment.” Maynier said this suggested the door was still open for an inquiry.