THE uproar over the impending arrest of Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan has escalated into a verbal sparring match, with President Jacob Zuma and his deputy, Cyril Ramaphosa, sending conflicting messages.
This as the ramifications of the political saga continued to rattle the government, the ANC, its partners in the tripartite alliance, as well as business.
Zuma went on the defensive yesterday as the Hawks’ pursuit of Gordhan and other former SA Revenue Service officials threatened to blow up in his face.
The Presidency sent out a flurry of media statements this week, reminiscent of the days after the firing of Nhlanhla Nene last year.
Zuma insisted he had no power to halt the Hawks’ probe, saying the presidential committee on state-owned enterprises is a product of recommendations from a review of parastatals adopted by the cabinet.
Gordhan had significantly raised the stakes in the stand-off by effectively challenging the Hawks to come and get him if they dared, after he was instructed to report to their offices.
While Zuma said he had “full support and confidence” in Gordhan yesterday, he insisted he did not have “powers to stop any investigation” into him.
However, Zuma’s denial, while strictly correct in law, was received with scepticism and criticism, as evidence mounted that the Sars saga was turning into a public relations disaster for him.
A few hours later, however, Ramaphosa, in an apparent proxy war with Zuma, contradicted him when he publicly backed Gordhan.
Ramaphosa, who was speaking at the funeral of former minister and diplomat Makhenkesi Stofile in the Eastern Cape, said Gordhan’s integrity was unquestionable.
“The minister of Finance is today facing what could be an arrest. It should concern us. When the government works well, it should not be a government that wages a war against itself,” warned Ramaphosa.
Gordhan and his deputy, Mcebisi Jonas, were part of a team of ministers attending Stofile’s funeral in the Eastern Cape.
“I am here to pledge my total support to the minister of Finance,” said Ramaphosa, who has been working closely with Gordhan in unlocking growth in the economy.
Former foreign affairs director-general Sipho Pityana was particularly scathing of Zuma, saying if the president had been in the Eastern Cape for Stofile’s funeral, he would have pleaded with him to resign.
He then asked the mourners to use Stofile’s funeral to rid the ANC of the ills of corruption and nepotism.
“May his (Stofile’s) wish for the movement to go back to its former glory during his last few days not be in vain,” said Pityana, who pointed out he was disappointed Zuma was not at the funeral.
This came as public sentiment overwhelmingly swung behind Gordhan and the other Sars officials, with jurists, lawyers, opposition parties and academics adding their voices in calling on Zuma to block the Hawks.
Following an open letter to Zuma from Business Leadership SA on Wednesday, begging him to call off the Hawks for the sake of the economy, George Bizos, Judge Johan Kriegler and the Helen Suzman Foundation came out in support of former Sars deputy commissioner Ivan Pillay and former group executive: strategy and risk Pete Richer, agreeing with Gordhan that the charges were baseless.
“Not only are the charges baseless, but the manner in which they have been pursued is clearly calculated to besmirch the names of the individuals and has predictably already seriously impaired our national economy,” the Helen Suzman and Freedom Under Law foundations said in a joint statement.
Former finance minister Trevor Manuel has also been backing Gordhan.
Opposition parties in Parliament are behind Gordhan, saying he was standing up to Zuma for trying to capture the National Treasury.
The unprecedented step by the Hawks to threaten to lock up Gordhan has also raised fears in the economic sector of instability.
Meanwhile, Pillay and Johann van Loggerenberg were tight-lipped yesterday after spending four hours giving statements to Hawks investigators in Pretoria yesterday. “We are just going to let due process take its course. If people look back in time, they will be able to see the truth for themselves.”
Pillay’s wife, Evelyn Groenink, meanwhile said what was occurring was a betrayal of the ideals of the ANC, which formerly stood for good governance.
“The ANC was a party that advocated for a democratic country where citizens had rights with no racialism or sexism and where the doors of wealth, learning, land and culture were open to all,” said Groenink.