Parliament – Responding to suggestions that he may be fired, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan on Wednesday said he was deeply aware that he served at President Jacob Zuma’s pleasure but believed his track record in the past year was clear for all to see.
“Words like fire … it is not very dignified,” Gordhan told a media briefing shortly before he tabled the 2017 annual budget. “If the president chooses to redeploy us, as we say in the [African National Congress] ANC, that is his prerogative… We have no appeal mechanism. We are very much alive to that situation.”
After a reporter bluntly asked how he felt about the possibility of him or his deputy, Mcebisi Jonas, being replaced by former Eskom CEO Brian Molefe, who is about to be sworn in as an MP, Gordhan was dismissive of the man with whom he clashed publicly about the utility’s coal contracts with an exploration company in the Gupta business empire.
He said he would leave it to Jonas to answer the question about “somebody called something”.
Jonas with characteristic frankness conceded that the job was “complicated by deployment matters that are politically motivated and fly against any logic”.
Director general for finance Lungisa Fuzile added that the uncertainly National Treasury saw last year when Zuma replaced then finance minister Nhlanhla Nene with Des van Rooyen before he was in turn replaced with Gordhan four days later, dented morale.
“A high turnover of ministers like I have experienced, it damages morale,” he said, adding that it made itself felt in National Treasury staff sending out CVs for jobs elsewhere. Gordhan described the past 15 months since he was re-appointed as finance minister as “intense”.
He said not only had the economic picture altered in terms of bond yields and currency levels, but National Treasury had tackled critical issues with success. This included recently averting a further credit rating downgrade, which he added would remain a top priority and require further work. “We have come a long way.”