Will Ramaphosa fire Nene?

IF PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa gives Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene the boot, he will be forced to act decisively against most of his cabinet ministers, who have been associated with the infamous Gupta family.

This is the view of political analyst Daniel Silke following media speculation that Nene had asked Ramaphosa to relieve him of his duties after his revelations at the Zondo Commission that he had met the Gupta family during his tenure as minister of finance.

“If Ramaphosa fires Nene, the pressure will be on him to also act decisively against other cabinet ministers.

“He would have preferred to remove all the Gupta-linked cabinet ministers after the elections, but this offers him the opportunity for a clean-up of his cabinet at a time when his own position is not very secured,” said Silke.

By offering to resign, Silke believes that Nene has done the honourable thing and has “gone where no other cabinet minister before him has gone”.

Another political analyst Protas Madlala defended Nene, saying the meetings happened as part of his official duties.

He, however, questioned Nene’s handling of the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) loan involving his son, saying the finance minister should have known better.

“Nene’s biggest failing was the PIC loan that was allegedly given to his son, but I take my hat off to him for admitting his mistakes and taking responsibility.”

Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Khusela Diko, yesterday said there was no official correspondence that they had received from Nene.

Alliance partners reacted to the Nene saga yesterday, but asked that they be provided with anonymity.

The SACP has said Nene should not be treated in isolation from other cabinet members who are facing serious allegations, including having meetings with the Guptas.

A senior member said there was no evidence of corruption in the finance minister’s meeting with the controversial family.

He said instead of jumping the gun, Ramaphosa should wait for the Zondo Commission to make its recommendations on state capture.

“If people met and there was no corruption and if you deal with them, what reason are you going to give.”

An ANC Women’s League leader defended Nene saying that no action should be taken while he was not facing criminal charges.

“The commission of inquiry is a fact-finding mission, until he is charged with a crime I cannot judge him, as I still don’t know what he did that was wrong ,” she added.

Yesterday, opposition parties, including the EFF and the DA, piled pressure on Ramaphosa, telling him that he needed to relieve Nene of his position in the best interest of the country. |