Much changed since earlier Hawks strike

CIVIL SOCIETY, ANC VETERANS AND FORMER UNITED DEMOCRATIC FRONT ACTIVISTS HAVE BEEN MOBILISED AGAINST ZUMA AND THE GUPTAS

Pravin Gordhan is in the crosshairs again. The former finance minister has arguably been the biggest thorn in Jacob Zuma’s side during the president’s decade-long reign over the ANC. Gwede Mantashe, the party’s secretary-general, said at a media briefing after Gordhan’s axing that a news report dubbing the former minister as the country’s de facto prime minister had set him up for a fall.

But Zuma’s beef with Gordhan began long before that. After initially using a fake intelligence report to justify removing Gordhan from the helm of the Treasury, Zuma fell back on telling party officials there had been an irretrievable breakdown in relations between the pair.

Now Gordhan’s fingerprints can be seen on most of the large initiatives opposing Zuma, from his declaration that he would vote with his conscience in the motion of no confidence against Zuma to his stance against Zuma’s friends and benefactors, the Gupta family.

Civil society, ANC veterans and former United Democratic Front activists have been mobilised against Zuma and the Guptas. Zuma’s treatment of Gordhan and its consequences for the economy were the catalyst.

Gordhan was removed from the finance portfolio after the 2014 elections and in that year, reports of the alleged “rogue unit” at the South African Revenue Service (SARS) emerged, some of which were later revealed to be “incorrect” by the publication that initially ran them. From the outset, it was clear that despite the suspensions and removals of senior SARS officials it was Gordhan who was the ultimate target.

Five investigations into the alleged rogue unit have taken place; the one by the Hawks is the latest following the 2015 criminal complaint lodged by SARS commissioner Tom Moyane. Yet Moyane still has not acted against his own second in charge, Jonas Makwakwa, who allegedly had dodgy flows of cash in and out of his bank account and that of his girlfriend.

The only probe that has tackled the most contentious of the operations allegedly undertaken by the “rogue unit” was done by audit firm KPMG into allegations around “Project Sunday Evenings”.

Controversially, Moyane’s attorney submitted directives to KPMG on the findings it “should” make.

The evidence collected was seemingly based largely on this directive and not on the actual investigation. The memorandum stated: “Having perused the report, we recommend the following as findings and recommendations, which may be incorporated at the very end of the report.”

This included the allegations around Project Sunday Evenings — the alleged bugging of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) at the behest of NPA advocates Gerrie Nel and Andrew Leask.

KPMG is also at the centre of a controversy linked to the Guptas, having been their auditors for more than a decade. In a statement from KPMG released on August 11, in which it commits to review all its work related to the Guptas, it noted it had been criticised for the SARS report and said it was reviewing it.

Interestingly, KPMG CE Trevor Hoole was number 33 among 81 business leaders who pledged their support for Gordhan when he was first charged by the Hawks in 2016. The CEOs stated that the charges were “without factual or legal foundation”.

Ironically, Project Sunday Evenings, revealed first by KPMG, is now at the centre of the allegations against Gordhan and former SARS officials, with claims that one of the officials, Helgard Lombaard, who remains suspended but an employee at the tax agency, has turned state witness.

Sunday Evenings is the most problematic of the allegations against former deputy SARS commissioner Ivan Pillay and his team, but first prize for the Hawks and the NPA is to prove one of the two narratives around the matter — that the operatives who bugged the NPA offices were “moonlighting”, or that it was sanctioned by Pillay and Gordhan. This is the Hawks’ next play against Gordhan.

Politically, much has changed since its last botched attempt to charge him. He is no longer the finance minister, but also the playing field against the Guptas and Zuma has shifted significantly. The Guptas have had to sell some of their assets, their bank accounts have largely been shut and the opposition to Zuma has intensified.

The Zuma faction has become increasingly paranoid about what it perceives as the rise of those aligned to former president Thabo Mbeki. Mbeki’s former finance minister, Trevor Manuel, and his deputy, Jabu Moleketi, have been subpoenaed in relation to the SARS “rogue unit” matter.

Perhaps the target has now moved beyond Gordhan to Zuma’s older and more powerful foes.