‘Zuma ministers’ take aim at Gordhan: report
National Treasury is standing in the way of transformation by holding the keys to the vault and acting like the de facto leadership of government, pro-Zuma ministers are saying – led by water minister Nomvula Mokonyane.
In an interview with the Sunday Times, Mokonyane said that it is unfair that the Treasury gets to decide which projects get funded and which ones don’t, and that cabinet needs to reassert itself as holding the power over Treasury, not the other way around.
This stance echoes similar sentiments by president Jacob Zuma, who has previously expressed frustration over Treasury’s powers over the country’s finances.
Treasury is tasked with reducing South Africa’s spending which has ballooned over the past decade, as millions if not billions of rands have been fuelled to bail out SOEs and fund projects which go massively over budget.
Most recently, Treasury, led by Pravin Gordhan, has blocked funding for the country’s nuclear build, which is said to cost R1 trillion. Gordhan has also taken a hard-line approach with giving money bailout SOEs, a position which is understood to have got his predecessor Nhlanhla Nene, fired.
Accusations that Gordhan and National Treasury are standing in the way of transformation is one of the conditions certain analysts have long said is necessary to remove the minister from the department of finance.
Research analyst at Nomura, Peter Attard Montalto, previously wrote that president Jacob Zuma needs to get rid of Gordhan to gain unrestricted access to the country’s coffers. However because of the economic and political fallout of ‘NeneGate’, a proper narrative needed to be constructed around Gordhan to make his axing more appropriate.
Part of this plan, Attard Montalto said, was to create the narrative that South Africa had transformation goals that were not being met because of Gordhan’s tight hold over Treasury.
In August 2016, Attard Montalto said the Zuma faction would likely push the following points in weaving a narrative to get Gordhan out of Treasury:
- They will argue that National Treasury is overly fiscally conservative and ‘captured’ by ‘white monopoly capital’ and ‘foreign colonial forces’.
- Pravin Gordhan is not the right finance minister for the ANC to implement the NDR (National Democratic Revolution – the key document that defines the ANC’s mission).
- The Hawks’ cases against Gordhan mean he has to be removed in accordance with new rules in the ANC about cadres standing down from positions when charged by police.
- Pravin Gordhan is being a blockage to the efficient running of the ANC’s (and particularly Zuma factions) tenderpreneur and patronage model.
Including a failed attempt by the Hawks to charges against Gordhan to stick – all of these points have now started coming to the fore.
Speculation is rife that a cabinet reshuffle is imminent, with Zuma reportedly looking to get rid of ministers who stand opposed to him – including Gordhan.
While some doubt exists that Gordhan could get the chop, experts agree that his removal would not be a positive move for the country, with Nomura being especially pessimistic: it would results in an immediate downgrade to junk, with the rand taking a massive hit.
You can read the full story in the February 12 edition of the Sunday Times
Read: Zuma targets Gordhan – says Treasury is blocking transformation goals: report
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