Minister of Finance Under Attack Again: Can it be the President's Last Attempt?

SOUTH AFRICA - In Brief 11 Oct 2016 by Iraj Abedian
Hot on the heel of President Zuma's potential reinstatement of 837 cases of fraud, corruption and racketeering, together with Public Protector's statement that she is going to go public about the case of State Capture (with President Zuma as the key role player) on Friday this week, the National Prosecuting Agency (NPA) surprisingly briefed the media this morning about the charges they have pressed against Minister of Finance, Pravin Gordhan, related to fraud at SA Revenue Services (SARS) during the Minister's tenure as the Commissioner of SARS during 1999 - 2009. This by itself does not mean that the Minister's job is at risk- at least not legally and not yet! Unless the Minister is convicted and charged by a court of law, he is assumed innocent in terms of the SA legal framework. However, this high profile and detailed briefing by the director of NPA has a huge political undertone, suggesting that the plot against the Minister may well be much wider and deeper than a simple charge of fraud. This may well be part of a bigger political scheme by President Zuma and his allies who in the recent past lost much political credibility. Two options suggest themselves:1) set the case against Minister Gordhan so that the President can have a reason for axing him in the forthcoming re-shuffle of his Cabinet. In this way, he can achieve his long-cherished goals related to some high profile mega projects that require approval by Minister of Finance.2) go on attack on the Minister as a proxy war, largely as a negotiation tactic related to finding a solution for his own legal impasse!At present it is too early to make a call. The timing of this move by NPA is curious, when the stude...

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