Campaign against Pravin hots up
PROTESTERS: ‘RENT A CROWD’ DON’T UNDERSTAND THEIR OWN POSTERS BERATING GORDHAN
Minister in the line of fire by those who wanted to benefit from state resources. says analyst.
Acampaign against Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan has kicked off and appears to be well planned at the highest level by his opponents.
This follows rumours that his opponents had a fightback strategy against his ongoing campaign to clean up the state-owned enterprises (SOEs) of corruption and state capture.
Recently, he reported widespread procurement irregularities at Transnet after he had earlier moved on to clear Eskom and SA Airways of executives suspected of involvement in graft.
Some chief executives and senior executives at various SOEs, including Eskom, SA Revenue Service (Sars) and Transnet, have accused ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa of using state resources to fight his opponents and to get rid of them. But it’s not yet clear if the anti-Gordhan campaign also includes Ramaphosa.
On Monday, a group of youth accompanied by church leaders protested outside the ANC’s Luthuli House headquarters demanding that Gordhan resign and also take his hands off Transnet chief executive Siyabonga Gama and former SA Airways board chairperson Dudu Myeni.
Last week, the new Transnet board announced its intention to suspend Gama, chief procurement officer Thamsanqa Jiyane and supply chain manager Lindiwe Mdletshe. They had until this week to respond to their notices.
The protesting group, some of whom claiming to come from ANC branches and civil society around Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, with some claiming to be from Eastern Cape and Gauteng, also hurled insults at Transnet board chairperson Popo Molefe. As the chair, he wrote the suspension notices of Gama, Jiyane and Mdletshe and this appeared to be the reason why the protesters also want Molefe’s head.
The group demanded that the ANC should remove Gordhan as minister because he was allegedly targeting black executives in the state-owned enterprises.
But none of the protesters – who held professionally printed placards – alluded to the fact that Gordhan came a long way with the liberation struggle and that he was, in fact, fighting corruption.
Gordhan was part of the United Democratic Front and the Natal Indian Congress and was part of the ANC negotiators in the pre1994 constitutional negotiations.
Some of the placards read: “Hands off Dudu Myeni”, “Pravin Gordhan must go now”, “Pravin you touched Gama, that was the biggest mistake”, “Pravin hates blacks”, and “Hands off Gama”.
But some of the protesters were unable to explain the contents of the placards and did not know who Gama was, nor the story around him.
Speaking for the protesters, Bishop Sandile Ndlela of the Durban United Methodist Church accused Gordhan of being an “untouchable” person. “He hates black excellence. He’s a dictator, he has got apartheid, he wants to chase blacks away and replace them with Indians.”
When asked about allegations levelled against Gama and Myeni, Ndlela could not explain and nor did another member, Mxo Ngobese. Instead, Ngobese claimed that Gordhan had been doing this since the Mandela administration, although Gordhan never served in that administration.
Neither Gordhan nor Molefe could be reached for comment.
Political analyst Somadoda Fikeni said it was not surprising that Gordhan was being targeted by Zuma loyalists.
“The Zuma group believe that they are being targeted because of him, they think that he is on a payback time or revenge against them,” Fikeni said.
Fikeni said as Gordhan had occupied strategic government positions for long, such as being the Sars head, finance minister, and now public enterprises minister, he was in the line of fire by those who wanted to benefit from state resources.
“Those positions carried huge monies and influence and if you are in those positions whether you are Pravin or [Minister Malusi] Gigaba, you will be targeted. Gordhan is seen as a bulwark against Zuma and therefore they would want to see him fall,” he said.
Fikeni said the outcome of the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture would strengthen Gordhan’s hand if the process found against those suspected of involvement in the state capture.
The Zuma group believe that they are being targeted because of him, they think that he is on a pay-back time or revenge against them.
Somadoda Fikeni Political analyst