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Johannesburg – Mounting evidence shows Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba is compromised and was appointed by the Guptas, according to the Democratic Alliance (DA).
The leading opposition party will hold a protest outside National Treasury on Thursday, calling for Gigaba to step down, said Graham Charters, acting spokesperson to DA leader Mmusi Maimane.
Maimane will hand over a memorandum to Treasury and Gigaba’s resignation will be the first step in the “uncapturing” of the state, said Charters. He added that Gigaba’s competency as finance minister was compromised by his link to the Guptas. Regardless of his plans to grow the economy and create jobs, the best thing for him to do is to resign, explained Charters.
'Gupta-appointee'
“His ability to be finance minister is directly related to whether he is captured or not. We fundamentally believe that the evidence shows he is captured and he is a Gupta appointee,” said Charters.
Although Deputy Finance Minister Sfiso Buthelezi has been implicated in the Gupta emails, Charters said Gigaba is the political head of Treasury and should be the first to go.
Charters also expressed concerns that the mini budget in October will have money diverted “anywhere and everywhere” for the Guptas. “Mr Pravin Gordhan was the last wall and the line of defence of the capture of Treasury, which is the public purse.”
Charters said that no further actions have been considered against Gigaba, but that the criminal charges laid against President Jacob Zuma by Maimane implicate Gigaba in his roles as both public enterprises and home affairs minister.
“The evidence that has come out against him in his previous roles at public enterprises says that it is quite clear that he was a Gupta appointee.”
READ: Gigaba washes his hands of #GuptaEmail links
Gigaba previously questioned the credibility of the leaked Gupta emails, and has supported calls for a judicial inquiry into state capture on several occasions.
At the announcement of a 14-point plan to revive the economy last week, Gigaba emphasised the importance of achieving transformation through inclusive economic growth. The partial privatisation of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) is one of the action items. Gigaba called for the reform of SOEs as part of addressing concerns of investors and ratings agencies.
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