Parliament - President Jacob Zuma faces a grilling from the National Council of Provinces on Tuesday on the state of the economy and the financial performance of state-owned entities (SOEs).
Zuma’s appearance in the NCOP comes amid heightened tensions in the ANC and the charges against Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan.
One of the questions Zuma has to answer in the chamber is about economic stability against the backdrop of the criminal prosecution of Gordhan.
The finance minister was charged by the National Prosecuting Authority a few weeks ago for approving the early retirement of former South African Revenue Service deputy commissioner Ivan Pillay.
Gordhan is due to appear in the Pretoria Regional Court next Wednesday.
ANC stalwarts and some parties in the opposition have said they will support Gordhan when he appears in court.
The other question Zuma faces is the establishment of the Presidential SOE Co-ordinating Council, which is similar to the committee headed by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Ramaphosa leads the Inter-Ministerial Committee on SOEs, and oversees their performance.
In the past Zuma has said there was no duplication of tasks in the establishment of the new council, which he will chair.
The mandate will be to oversee the work done by the SOEs.
The state entities have been a thorn in government’s side as they have sought loan guarantees in the past 15 years.
Gordhan said in his Budget in February that government had spent almost R500 billion in bailouts on SOEs.
Last year November Cabinet instructed SOEs to improve their financial performance to avoid getting bailouts from the state.
This was a similar message sent by Gordhan to SOEs in his Budget speech in February.
Political Bureau