Nene must not let this cloud hang over him
Julius Malema is at it again. This time he has set his sights on Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene, holder of probably the most important cabinet portfolio after the president.
During the debate on the Presidency’s budget vote Malema accused Nene, who was reappointed to his old job in February, of impropriety, suggesting that the EFF is in possession of a dossier of meetings he had with dodgy business people during his tenure as deputy to then finance minister Pravin Gordhan — that is, during Jacob Zuma’s first term as president.
It is not immediately clear what Malema’s endgame is in targeting Nene, or why now. However, his tactic is clear.
By making the defamatory remarks in Parliament he is protected by parliamentary privilege. Nene isn’t the first minister to become a victim of the politics of smear. Prior to his sacking last March, Gordhan was targeted by the friends of Bell Pottinger, including Edward Zuma, who has since been forced to apologise to him and Tourism Minister Derek Hanekom.
In all probability, Nene’s predecessor, Malusi Gigaba, was shifted back to home affairs because of the swirl of rumour around his association with the Guptas rather than his performance in the year he was in the job. The high court finding that he lied in the Fireblade case (he is appealing against the refusal of his application for leave to appeal to a higher court) was a godsend for the case against him staying in the job. While it is not evident what Malema is seeking to achieve with his threatened exposure, the allegations are too serious to ignore. And Nene and his boss, President Cyril Ramaphosa, cannot afford to have this cloud hanging over his head indefinitely. The portfolio is too important to be led by an individual mired in controversy.
Apart from keeping a watch on public finances, it is vitally important that the finance minister be beyond reproach. Without respect, it’s hard for him to execute his de-facto role as first among equals in the Cabinet. SA has seen what happens when a finance minister becomes fair game.
Gordhan reminded us in a television interview on Sunday about how he would sit with colleagues in cabinet meetings and watch them afterwards hold news conferences denouncing him. Zuma looked on as Nomvula Mokonyane, Lindiwe Zulu, Mosebenzi Zwane and Des van Rooyen sniped at Gordhan in public.
Nene has kept an uncharacteristically low profile since his return to the top job at the Treasury but now with the help of his boss he has to restore respect for the institution. By the time of Gordhan’s sacking, moves were afoot to strip the department of its constitutionally enshrined mandate of preparing the national budget. A formal statement reversing this attempt to usurp the Treasury’s power has yet to be made.
Nene also has to fill key vacancies at the Treasury that arose following Gordhan’s dismissal. Among other things, he has to recruit a permanent head of the procurement office, which is responsible for overseeing billions of rand of procurement and major tenders by state departments and stateowned enterprises, most of which are dogged by controversy. As finance minister he is also the political head – through his deputy – of the Public Investment Corporation, which manages R2-trillion of government employee pensions as well as investment funds from the Unemployment Insurance Fund and Compensation Fund. The PIC’s leadership has been embroiled in controversy, and his attempt to improve transparency and governance around its investment strategy and operations is likely to be met with resistance if he doesn’t deal with Malema’s allegations.
In essence, Malema wants us to believe Nene was elevated to the finance ministry in exchange for a promise to deliver certain benefits to vested nonstate parties. In other words, there was a meeting of the minds. When he failed or reneged on his undertakings to these unnamed parties, he was removed with that fateful December 15 2015 midnight statement. So the allegations have nothing to do with the period between his dismissal and reappointment or his twoyear stint in the private sector. They predate this period, which is more disturbing.
True or not, these are serious allegations that must be addressed decisively and without delay. The involvement of unelected individuals in the appointment of government ministers and directors of SOEs is one of the subjects of the Zondo commission of inquiry.
In theory, at least, Nene will have the opportunity to use this forum to clear his name. But that is too far away – in all likelihood his testimony may only be more than a year from now. It would be irresponsible for Nene to leave it until then.
Once he has taken his boss into his confidence, he needs to tackle the matter publicly and not allow Malema to keep drip-feeding his allegations like slow poison.
HE NEEDS TO TACKLE THE MATTER PUBLICLY AND NOT ALLOW MALEMA TO KEEP DRIP-FEEDING HIS ALLEGATIONS LIKE SLOW POISON