Gordhan the real target; the others were collateral damage
IT is at times such as these when one finds oneself suddenly at a loss for words, thought processes unravelling and even losing one’s step or footing. The country seems to be in a daze.
President Jacob Zuma’s cabinet reshuffle, accomplished with such cavalier disdain, has floored us all. The removal of finance minister Pravin Gordhan, although expected, was, like death, extremely upsetting when it finally happened. That it was laced with lies and dishonesty made it all the more shocking.
Stunned, stupefied, gobsmacked . . . such words spring to mind. Even penning this modest offering has been an uphill struggle. Whatever one seeks to say seems so inadequate. What can one say to describe or explain such moronic behaviour? How can it be allowed to happen?
If Zuma’s intention is to destroy this country, he could not have chosen a better way. We are all feeling sore. In times of crisis it is the country’s leader who ideally should wrap his arm around us with an assurance that everything will be fine. But who will comfort us if the president is the author of our pain? When the guardian turns into a predator?
We call ours a democracy, but we didn’t elect Zuma, and therefore cannot remove him. His party did, and it’s been hijacked. An autocrat, one who rules without any inhibition, could not have been more contemptuous of the country’s future.
Zuma says the cabinet reshuffle was to improve efficiency and effectiveness. Do Bathabile Dlamini, Faith Muthambi, Mosebenzi Zwane look like an improvement to you?
But let us not be fooled by the culling of a few ministers. This was about Gordhan. This has always been about the National Treasury. Zuma, like the herd boy he once was, knew that to catch and slaughter the beast with little fuss, he had to corral it with the entire flock. The other ministers who lost their jobs were unintended targets. It wasn’t about them. They shouldn’t take it personally.
Finally, Zuma and friends have got what they tantalisingly came close to securing in December 2015 when he unexpectedly fired then finance minister Nhlanhla Nene, replacing him with little-known Des van Rooyen.
Zuma was of course forced to move Van Rooyen sideways, handing Gordhan his old portfolio, but then sought to undermine him from the start.
Gordhan and his deputy, Mcebisi Jonas, deserve our gratitude. They did their work with diligence, commitment and dignity even in the face of so much abuse and harassment by Zuma and his sycophants.
Gordhan and his staff worked tirelessly to save the country from a downgrade. That apparently failed to appease Zuma. It was never about competence or results.
Gordhan was a stumbling block to the intention to capture the Treasury. The spurious charges brought against him by Shaun Abrahams, the spineless head of the National Prosecuting Authority, for instance, were meant to coax him into resigning.
By publicly calling Gordhan back from his international road show in London this week, Zuma may have sought to humiliate him. Instead — apart from embarrassing the country in the eyes of international investors — the president came across as capricious and unstable. While Zuma has clearly lost the country and a significant chunk of his party, Gordhan leaves office with his head held high.
Had it not been for stiff opposition from the tripartite alliance, Brian Molefe — the Guptas’ blue-eyed boy and crybaby — would have succeeded Gordhan. But the Guptas should be pretty happy with Malusi Gigaba. He’s firmly in their pocket. He’s a greenhorn when it comes to the economy. But that’s not the reason for his appointment. He should prove an energetic agent for the Guptas.
Gigaba has made a mess wherever he’s been in charge. He was hardly a success at public enterprises and his action on visas at home affairs has wreaked havoc with the tourism industry. Gigaba is joined by Sfiso Buthelezi as his deputy, and no doubt Zulu will be the preferred language at the Treasury. Both are not only close to Zuma, they regard him as their elder. Unlike their predecessors, they are unlikely to stand up to him.
Credibility will be Gigaba’s biggest challenge. Does he know what he’s doing, or is he just another poodle? His predecessors had solid apprenticeships or relevant experience before taking over the job. Trevor Manuel had a stint at trade and industry; Gordhan transformed the South African Revenue Service into a penny-pinching mint; and Nene was a dependable deputy. Now we have two blind mice in charge of the nation’s coffers. It’s a scary prospect.
The brutal nature of the reshuffle has, for the first time, provoked senior party members to speak up. Secretary-general Gwede Mantashe says he’s uncomfortable with the list, which he suggests was created somewhere else; deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa has also found his voice, so too has Jackson Mthembu, the chief whip. But unless they do something about it, their words will count for nothing. It’s time for action, not mellifluous words.
What happened was an unmitigated disaster for the country, but it will be an even bigger tragedy if Zuma is allowed to get away with it.