Gordhan has my full support, says Zuma
But president ‘does not have power to stop Hawks probe’
PRESIDENT Jacob Zuma said yesterday he backed Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan but was powerless to stop a police investigation into him, signalling a prolonged tussle that could rock markets further.
Gordhan faces an investigation over a suspected surveillance unit set up years ago when he was in charge SARS. The rand has tumbled 5% since Tuesday when news of the investigation broke, with analysts saying Zuma had offered only qualified support to Gordhan.
The minister said on Wednesday he had done nothing wrong and had no legal obligation to obey a summons linked to the probe of whether he used the SARS unit to spy on politicians, including Zuma.
News of Gordhan’s summons this week compounded investors’ worries about a power struggle between Zuma and Gordhan as Africa’s most industrialised economy teeters near recession and credit rating agencies consider downgrading it to “junk”.
The DA called for a parliamentary debate on what it called a “witchhunt” against Gordhan.
Investors and rating agencies back Gordhan’s plans to rein in government spending in an economy that has been forecast by the central bank to register no growth this year.
“President Jacob Zuma wishes to express his full support and confidence in the minister of finance and emphasises the fact that the minister has not been found guilty of any wrongdoing,” the Presidency said.
“President Zuma does not have powers to stop any investigations into any individual/s,” it said, adding Zuma could not stop the probe even if it was affecting the economy.
It defended plans to give Zuma supervision over state-owned firms after Gordhan’s allies said this would limit the finance minister’s control. Zuma’s team and the Treasury under Gordhan have disagreed about government spending, including at loss-making state companies like South African Airways, analysts say.
Gordhan and two former SARS managers – Ivan Pillay and Johann Van Loggerenberg – had been ordered to present themselves at the Hawks’ headquarters in Pretoria yesterday. Pillay and Van Loggerenberg complied, but Gordhan did not. The Hawks want to grill them in connection with alleged contraventions of the Public Financial Management Act, the National Strategic Intelligence Act and the Prevention of Corrupt Activities Act.
Former SARS commissioner Oupa Magashule also presented himself to the Hawks yesterday.
The investigation centres on Gordhan apparently approving Pillay’s early retirement and then approving his rehiring as a contractor.