‘No meeting with Rupert’
NEW battle lines have been drawn over Guptagate, with Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa yesterday breaking his silence on claims that billionaire Johann Rupert had instructed him to convince President Jacob Zuma to appoint Pravin Gordhan as finance minister.
The claims — first published in the Gupta-owned daily the New Age a day before the ANC’s national executive committee held a crucial meeting in which the family’s alleged influence in the government was to top the agenda — have been used by Zuma’s supporters in the party to claim that he is not the only leader with close ties to business individuals.
In a statement issued by his office yesterday, Ramaphosa denied meeting Rupert, former finance minister Trevor Manuel and Barclays Africa CEO Maria Ramos to discuss the removal ofDavid van Rooyen as finance minister.
“The only time Deputy President Ramaphosa engaged himself with the matter of the finance ministry was during the meeting of the top six ANC officials with Zuma on the Sunday leading to the appointment of Pravin Gordhan as the finance minister,” his spokesman, Ronnie Mamoepa, said.
The claims of the Rupert meeting were reportedly made by Zuma at the ANC’s NEC meeting last weekend while he was responding to the accusation that he was on the leash of the Guptas. According to an article in the Sowetan, Zuma reportedly claimed that other ANC leaders had close relations with business people too.
The president’s reported statements were followed by his son Edward Zuma filing a corruption complaint against Rupert at Nkandla’s police station yesterday.
On Friday, Rupert said he had not met any politicians during the finance minister debacle in December.
Last week, Zuma loyalists shared messages on social media suggesting that Ramaphosa and other leaders were in the pockets of Rupert, Stellenbosch and “white monopoly capital”.
Responding to e-mailed questions on Friday, Rupert said: “All this is, is a pathetic effort to undermine a critic. It is the same tactic the National Party government used against me. I have not met the deputy president — in fact, I have not seen him for years. I heard about Mr Gordhan’s appointment over the public news broadcasts.”
However, Rupert said there would be nothing wrong if he had met Ramaphosa.
“Anyway, if I were to have met with Mr Ramaphosa or any other politician . . . what would have been wrong with that? Are we returning to the dark days of dictatorship and fear?”
Asked if the accusation would encourage his family to disinvest from South Africa, Rupert was dismissive.
“You must be joking. Our companies bring in more foreign dividends than the rest of the JSE combined,” he said.