Support Gordhan for the sake of SA
DIAKONIA Council of Churches joins millions of concerned South Africans in voicing its concern over the turmoil caused by the public spat between the Hawks and Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan.
We believe this can only impact negatively on the national economy, which was on the path to recovery. We know the economy recently escaped a ratings downgrade to junk status chiefly thanks to the minister’s hard work. This is the time when we are all supposed to rally behind the minister in putting our economy back on the right path.
This spat has left many wondering who will stand to benefit from it. It makes us wonder if it is not intended to intimidate and humiliate Gordhan. We know him as a person of integrity, one of the very few public officials who has the common good at heart.
While we believe nobody is above the law, we, however, believe that what is happening amounts to unjustified persecution of the minister.
In February, the Hawks sent out a litany of questions to the minister, which he duly answered.
In May, the Hawks said they were not investigating the minister over the alleged “rogue unit” at Sars.
We now question if the August 22 somersault of asking the minister to attend the Hawks’ offices to take a warning statement is motivated by a genuine desire to achieve justice, or by some other clandestine motive.
Legal experts have weighed in on the impasse, insisting that the accusations against the minister have no basis in law.
Economists have warned that the most certain casualty