Upbeat Nene settles into private sector life
AN upbeat Nhlanhla Nene said more private sector positions were in the offing after investment firm Allan Gray announced his appointment to the board.
Nene, fired unceremoniously as finance minister in December, said he was preparing for life outside the public service. “Continue watching this space‚” he said‚ adding there could be “one or two” more announcements.
After he was axed and replaced with backbencher Desmond van Rooyen‚ President Jacob Zuma said Nene would take up a position with the Brics bank‚ the institution set up by the Brazil‚ Russia‚ India‚ China and SA bloc which has since been formally named the New Development Bank.
The rand plummeted after the move‚ which also eroded investor confidence in SA even after Zuma had given back the portfolio to Pravin Gordhan. The Bank has still formally.
In a statement on Nene’s removal at the time‚ Zuma said the move was urgent and prompted by the need to send nominations to Shanghai as Nene was SA’s candidate to head the bank’s African regional centre in Johannesburg. “We are fully backing his cand knowing full well that he will excel and make the nation proud in his next assignment‚” he said.
The mooted appointment and its urgency are still a mystery as Nene moves into the private sector.
A Presidency spokesman declined to explain the discrepancy and referred questions to previous statements.
Nene appears unconcerned by the lack of clarity on the Brics bank job. He was at an Allan Gray board meeting on Monday after induction last week.
After having had a “taste” of farming on his 22ha property in KwaZulu-Natal‚ he hopes his new job will be flexible not approached Nene enough for him to continue spending time there.
“It is a very small thing‚ a small operation‚ about 22ha‚ but with a little bit of everything. And I think because I have tasted that life‚ I would want to leave space and that’s why I would want the flexibility to be able to do a little bit of that as well‚” he said.
Nene remains good-humoured about his plight‚ joking that in his case‚ it was a “reversal” of state capture as he‚ as a career public servant‚ was venturing into the private sector. Allan Gray announced on Monday he would come on board as a non-executive director.
Last month‚ Deputy Finance Minister Mcebisi Jonas confirmed that the politically connected Gupta family had offered him Nene’s post ahead of his axing‚ fuelling talk of attempts by businessmen to “capture” the Treasury.
On Monday‚ the New Development Bank said its board had approved its first set of loans involving financial assistance of $811-million (R11.6-billion)‚ to be disbursed in tranches.
The fundingwas to support 2 370MW of renewable energy capacity‚ leading to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by nearly four million tons per year‚ it said. Eskom has secured a loan of $180-million for renewable energy. — BDLive