Gordhan has nothing to hide about Guptas
Former finance minister gave the family cold shoulder, so is not afraid to appear before Zondo commission
“I can recall one meeting where the former president introduced me to Mr Ajay Gupta,” public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan says in his statement to the Zondo commission.
Ican recall one meeting where the former president introduced me to Mr Ajay Gupta,” public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan says in his statement to the Zondo commission.
He says that early in his first term as finance minister he was called to Mahlamba Ndlopfu, the presidential residence in Pretoria, for a meeting with then president Jacob Zuma.
“When I was called into the meeting room, former president Zuma introduced me to a man who I believe is Ajay Gupta. Mr Zuma introduced him as ‘my friend’ and told me that the man had expertise in regard to small business and finance,” Gordhan says.
“I recall us exchanging generalities for a couple of minutes, but I do not recall the details of what was a very cursory exchange. Mr Gupta then excused himself and left me and the former president to continue our meeting.”
In the statement to the commission investigating state capture, Gordhan also says: “I have never been to the Gupta family compound located in Saxonwold.”
It is really as simple as that. It should not be difficult for members of cabinet and ANC leaders to explain their contact with the Guptas – unless of course they have something to hide. Gordhan does not. Which is why he is able to declare to justice Raymond Zondo when and where he encountered the Guptas.
The Guptas were en vogue for most of Zuma’s time in office, calling the shots on state visits, hosting political highfliers at The New Age business breakfasts and occupying prime seating at ANC events, including the 53rd national conference at Mangaung.
In the ANC and the government, there were probably not many people who snubbed the Guptas as Gordhan did. He went to the extent of cancelling The New Age postbudget breakfast in 2016 and instead spoke at a briefing that was broadcast by both the SABC and eNCA.
Gordhan says in his statement to the state capture inquiry he believes this decision “may have contributed to my eventual removal as minister of finance in March 2017”.
HIGH PRICE
Former finance minister Nhlanhla Nene was the only witness at the Zondo commission to testify that he met the Guptas willingly at their Saxonwold home several times. He paid a high price for doing so. It is no surprise therefore that there is reluctance among former and current ministers to own up to their relationships with the Guptas, let alone their roles in aiding state capture.
During the state capture heyday, Gordhan and his former deputy, Mcebisi Jonas, displayed their integrity through their blunt refusal to be compromised. This made them outcasts.
But what was everybody else in the ANC and the cabinet doing? It is essential for Zondo and SA to understand how the Guptas manipulated people to get them to use their positions to facilitate state capture.
In Jonas’s case, they attempted bribery. In other cases, they employed their proximity to the president and influence in circles of power.
In a written response to a parliamentary question from the DA, trade & industry minister Rob Davies admitted last month that he “met with members of the Gupta family on a number of occasions between 2009 and 2013”.
He said he first met Ajay Gupta when Duduzane Zuma brought him to Davies’s house in Cape Town.
Gupta evidently complained that the Industrial Development Corporation was taking a long time to process their application for a mining project.
“As with innumerable similar representations made to me both before and since, I responded saying that as minister I could not and would not get involved in deciding on the merits of any particular application,” Davies said.
EXPLAIN ACTIONS
Davies said that he was willing to appear before the Zondo commission to explain this and other interactions with the Gupta family.
The problem will be for people like Zuma, home affairs minister Malusi Gigaba and former ministers Mosebenzi Zwane, Lynne Brown, Ben Martins and Faith Muthambi to explain their actions that contributed directly to the Guptas’ pillaging of the state.
Although some of them have been implicated in witness testimony, they have not yet approached the commission to explain their roles and how they came to surrender themselves to the Guptas.
With Gigaba now on a PR roadshow to rescue his ragged reputation, perhaps he should lead the way to the witness stand. He was, after all, the person who opened up the Guptas’ access to major stateowned companies through the appointments of their cronies in key positions.
It will obviously not be easy for people to acknowledge that their ambition and greed, as well as political pressure, led to them succumbing to the Guptas.
But there would be some virtue in stepping up to assist the inquiry and the nation understand the nature of the state capture beast. History might be a little more generous towards those who take responsibility for their actions.