Cape Town - Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan on Wednesday downplayed the swirling speculation that his job was on the line following the imminent swearing in of former Eskom chief executive Brian Molefe as a Member of Parliament.
Speaking ahead of his speech yesterday, Gordhan said he and his deputy, Mcebisi Jonas, were serving at the pleasure of President Jacob Zuma. “If he decides to redeploy us, that is his decision. There is no appeal mechanism,” he said.
“It can take many years to build an institution and a short time to mess [it] up. Society needs to become aware of the importance of institutions.”
He said treasuries, in the public and private sector, were virtually indispensable to organisations.
Meanwhile, National Treasury Director-General Lungisa Fuzile said the high turnover of finance ministers damaged morale in the department.