Johannesburg - The Democratic Alliance has slammed the National Prosecuting Authority for going ahead and charging Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan.
In a hard-hitting statement, shadow minister of finance David Maynier says the fact that the Minister of Finance, Pravin Gordhan, will be prosecuted and arraigned on charges of fraud and theft is a disaster for the economy in South Africa.
News on Tuesday that Gordhan was issued with a formal summons on Tuesday to appear in court on November 2 in relation to the granting of early retirement to a colleague caused the rand to drop at least 3.4 percent.
It has also led to speculation that South Africa will now be downgraded overnight by ratings agencies. S&P and Fitch have SA on a note above junk, while Moody’s has the country two notches above. The country is set to go through a review at year-end.
In addition, economic growth may be flat this year, and is expected to come in at less than 1 percent next year.
The news, which comes two weeks before the tabling of the crucial Medium Term Budget Policy Statement on 26 October 2016, has caused the rand to plummet, and will make a sovereign ratings downgrade more likely in South Africa.
Maynier notes that Gordhan maintains that the transaction, relating to the early retirement of the former Deputy Commissioner of the South African Revenue Service, Ivan Pillay, for which he will be charged, was “entirely lawful”.
“We must now trust the courts to determine whether there is any merit to these charges. And we hope that there will be no delay in bringing this matter to court because ‘justice delayed is justice denied’.
“The fact is that, what Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, refers to as ‘a government at war with itself’ is destroying any prospect of boosting economic growth and creating jobs in South Africa.”
IOL