Johannesburg - South Africa’s political leadership is playing a dangerous and short-sighted game at the expense of the country’s economic growth, according to Wits University economist Kenneth Creamer.
He said this in reaction to the announcement that Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan had been instructed to present himself to the Hawks head office at 10am on Friday morning.
“It would appear that opportunistic forces are trying to weaken Gordhan in order to advance narrow commercial interests.
“South Africa’s growth prospects will be further weakened as good governance is compromised and important institutions like the criminal justice system, the National Treasury and Sars are damaged and abused,” Creamer said.
South Africans, he said, needed to appeal to their leaders to prioritise the country’s wider economic interests.
“If not, South Africa runs a real risk of breaking the golden thread that runs from good governance to economic growth to employment creation and poverty alleviation,” he said.
The rand plunged in the wake of the news to the weakest level against the dollar in the past three weeks.
The rand, which had strengthened to a high for the year of R13.21 to the dollar last week, went into retreat, reaching R13.90 within hours of the first reports of the Hawks letter in the Daily Maverick.
Gordhan and four other former Sars officials were instructed to appear “without fail” in connection with alleged contravention of the Interception of Communications and Provision of Communications-Related Information Act of 2002.
Independent Media has seen the contents of the letters, which state the alleged Sars “rogue unit” facilitated the installation of bugging equipment in the Silverton offices of the former Directorate for Special Operations (Scorpions)/National Prosecuting Authority and made transcripts of conversations there.
The five are to to meet investigating officer Brigadier Nyameka Xaba for a warning statement - usually the last step before the formulation of criminal charges.
Finance Ministry spokeswoman Phumza Macanda confirmed the correspondence to Independent Media on Tuesdaynight, but did not comment on its contents.
Hawks spokesman Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi did not wish to confirm the correspondence with Gordhan; former Sars deputy commissioner Ivan Pillay; former group executive: strategy and risk Pete Richer; former group executive: enforcement investigation Johann van Loggerenberg; and former head of the unit Andries Janse van Rensburg, saying “we don’t comment on matters that are under investigation”.
Gordhan was Sars commissioner when the unit was established.
It is understood that Van Rensburg reported to the Hawks on Monday.
Former Sars spokesman Adrian Lackay denied reports that he was among those warned to report to the Hawks, saying he had received no indication that he was a suspect. He said he knew though that Sars commissioner Tom Moyane was the complainant.
Gordhan, Pillay and Van Loggerenberg have consistently denied knowledge of any unlawful activities. It is understood that Gordhan was consulting his lawyers and would not report to the Hawks offices in person.
The latest move by the Hawks comes after an unofficial “truce” in which Hawks head Mthandazo Ntlemeza gave Gordhan the assurance that he would not be “embarrassed” by an arrest without first being notified.
The Hawks denied at the time that Gordhan was being investigated.
This followed a sharp drop in the value of the rand in May, after reports of Gordhan’s imminent arrest, compounding losses by the currency after the removal of Nhlanhla Nene as finance minister in December.
President Jacob Zuma had also, before the elections, denied suggestions that Gordhan’s job was under threat and, most recently, the Presidency denied reports of a rift between the president and the Treasury over SAA.
Zuma has now taken a direct interest in the management of state-owned companies, including SAA, which was placed under the Treasury, following a cabinet lekgotla at the weekend.
Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe announced on Monday that a Presidential Co-ordinating Council would be established to give Zuma “line of sight on strategic decisions and interventions” in state-owned companies.
Gordhan has been unwilling to agree to an SAA request for government support until a new board has been appointed.
Nene was removed after clashing with SAA board chairwoman Dudu Myeni over the acquisition of new aircraft via a third party and resistance to a proposed nuclear build programme which Zuma supports.
With the elections now out of the way, the battle over the Treasury appears to have resumed.
Zuma faces potential blow back within the ANC over its dismal election results, having conceded the metros of Tshwane, Joburg and Nelson Mandela Bay, along with other significant councils, to the opposition DA.
Calls for an early elective conference, floated by the Zuma-aligned ANC Youth League, have now been taken up by others, with secretary-general Gwede Mantashe suggesting on Tuesday that it was not a bad idea.
The issue of state capture, which came into focus after Deputy Finance Minister Mcebisi Jonas confirmed he had been offered Nene’s job by members of the Gupta family, is set to be a key focus as Zuma and his allies in the ANC battle those hoping to remove him and avert the potential loss of its majority in the 2019 elections.