HAWKS POUNCE ON PRAVIN
He must answer questions about rogue SARS unit
FINANCE Minister Pravin Gordhan has been summoned to report to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation tomorrow.
Sowetan understands that Gordhan will present himself to lead investigator Brigadier Nyameka Xaba at the Hawks offices in Pretoria.
The Hawks are investigating the establishment of the alleged “rogue unit” at the SA Revenue Service when Gordhan was commissioner.
He will be asked to give a statement regarding the unit, its activities, including the spying allegations levelled against it.
Gordhan, former SARS deputy commissioner Ivan Pillay‚ group executive Johann van Loggerenberg‚ spokesperson Adrian Lackay and the initial head of the investigative unit‚ Andries van Rensburg have also been ordered to report to the Hawks.
Treasury spokeswoman Phumza Macanda confirmed that Gordhan has been in contact with the Hawks, saying: “Indeed [the] minister received correspondence from the Hawks yesterday. He’s currently taking legal advice and therefore reserving comment at this stage.”
Despite Gordhan’s office confirming the communication, Hawks spokesman Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi, last night said he knew nothing about the written correspondence.
The move by the Hawks to bring in Gordhan for questioning has ended the rand’s rally against the US dollar and the British pound.
On August 10, the rand hit R13.20 to the dollar, its best performance this year. But this was lost when news of Gordhan’s correspondence with the Hawks was released late yesterday.
The rand fell by nearly 3% and was 2% weaker by 5.30pm yesterday, fuelling fears that the events could spark a new crisis for the economy.
This is not the first time that the Hawks have requested information from Gordhan.
Days before he presented his 2016 Budget Speech, Gordhan was sent a list of questions relating to the “rogue unit”. At the time the Hawks said they never meant to investigate Gordhan, rather that he was merely the “suitable man to talk to” as he was SARS commissioner when the unit was established.
In his response to the Hawks’ 27 questions, Gordhan said the legal advice he had received was that the establishment of the unit was legal. He said if any of the unit’s members broke the law, they did so without his knowledge.
The latest developments come as President Jacob Zuma tries to reassert his authority by bidding to wield greater control over stateowned companies after the ANC’s worst-ever electoral showing.
Gordhan took over as finance minister, a post he held from 2009 to 2014, in December after Zuma was forced to remove David van Rooyen four days after his appointment because of protests from members of the ANC and business community. The appointment of Van Rooyen saw the rand and government bonds plunge.