Zuma says no war against Gordhan – then attacks newspaper with inside track

The Information Age makes conspiracies terribly difficult to execute. With the rest of the world accessible via cell phones, secrets are impossible to be kept anymore. There is always someone in the chain with a conscience – or a resentment – that motivates social media bean spilling. So when South African President Jacob Zuma chides those who claim there is a “war” between himself and Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, he is taking on a near army of apparent insiders who believe there is. Claims and counter claims of friction and imminent arrests is actually a sideshow. The important thing for the country right now is that despite well documented efforts to eject him, Gordhan remains in situ – even if, unprecedented for any Finance Minister anywhere, he prevented from getting his hands onto the Revenue collection agency. Gordhan pushed that point, even threatening to resign if SARS head and Zuma confidante Tom Moyane wasn’t replaced. He lost that battle, but never did resign and has either changed his mind about Moyane (unlikely) or strategised a different approach (probably). Meanwhile, as City Press reported over the weekend in the story below, Gordhan’s enemies have switched their line of attack. This faction is supported by a paranoid Presidency which rubbished the newspaper – and the journalist leading the expose’s – over a different story (see bottom of the page). The Soap Opera continues, but don’t expect a Hollywood movie anytime soon. The global audience would dismiss the storyline as too far fetched. – Alec Hogg

JOHANNESBURG, May 29 (Reuters) – South Africa’s elite Hawks police unit denied on Sunday a report that an investigation involving Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, which has helped to weaken the rand, has been transferred to another part of the force.

Citing an unnamed source, the City Press newspaper said the police crime intelligence unit had taken over the inquiry into a surveillance body formed at the national tax agency SARS when it was run by Gordhan between 1999 and 2009.

Pravin Gordhan, South Africa's finance minister, right, sits beside Jacob Zuma, South Africa's president, left, before delivering his 2016 budget speech to parliament in Cape Town, South Africa, on Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2016. Gordhan stuck to a pledge to bring down the budget deficit, targeting civil-servant jobs and increasing wealth taxes to stave off a credit-rating downgrade to junk. Photographer: Halden Krog/Bloomberg
Pravin Gordhan, South Africa’s finance minister, right, sits beside Jacob Zuma, South Africa’s president, left, before delivering his 2016 budget speech to parliament in Cape Town. Photographer: Halden Krog/Bloomberg

The Hawks, which are responsible for tackling organised and commercial crime plus serious corruption, have previously said they were running the inquiry but that Gordhan was not being personally targeted.

On Sunday, Hawks spokesman Hangwani Mulaudzi repeated this denial, and dismissed the City Press report. “There is no investigation against the minister, the investigation is only on the spy unit at SARS. It is not correct that the crime intelligence unit is handling the case,” Mulaudzi told Reuters.

Gordhan has been embroiled in the investigation and an accompanying political row at a time when South Africa faces a possible downgrading of its credit rating.

Standard and Poor’s, which ranks Africa’s most industrialised country just one step above subinvestment grade, is due to make public its rating decision on Friday.

Gordhan has said rival credit rating agency Fitch will also announce the result of its review of South Africa on June 8. Policymakers fear the country, whose economy is expected to grow by less than one percent this year, may be headed to “junk’ status, an outcome that would increase its borrowing costs.

On Friday, the presidency said in a statement that President Jacob Zuma is not “at war” with Gordhan over the control of the National Treasury, in response to widespread media reports.

The City Press cited an unnamed senior crime intelligence commander as saying his police unit was now involved in the inquiry because it had “better resources and capacity, and a larger network of informants”.

The commander added that the Hawks were “not making sufficient progress” in the case of the spy unit, which was set up to tackle organised crime and illicit revenues.

The crime intelligence unit is authorised to use surveillance and conduct undercover operations, such as infiltrating crime syndicates.

On May 15, the Sunday Times newspaper reported that Gordhan faced imminent arrest, sending the rand tumbling to a two-month low, despite denials by the presidency and the police.

Presidency singles out City Press for rubbishing over weekend report

By Lizeka Tandwa

Johannesburg – The Presidency has rubbished a report by Sunday newspaper City Press that President Jacob Zuma refused to fly in his jet, Inkwazi, fearing sabotage.

“The Presidency is disturbed by yet another misleading story in Naspers titles about Zuma’s aircraft and flights,” it said.

In a statement, spokesperson for Presidency, Dr Bongani Ngqulunga accused journalist Erika Gibson of reporting misleading rumours and gossip against Zuma.

“It has become a trend for misleading rumours and gossip to be reported by journalist Gibson in City Press and Rapport every Sunday, purportedly emanating from a source or sources within the South African Air Force,” Ngqulunga said.

Read also: A “Flying Nkandla” in offing as Zuma’s SAA to 737 upgrade no longer enough

Plane debacle

City Press reported that Zuma declined to fly in Inkwazi when it arrived with fuel flowing from one wing from Qatar.

The jet was fully repaired and ready to transport Zuma when he refused, City Press reported.

City Press said the president then used a rented aircraft to fly to Durban.

Ngqulunga said the Defence Force had indicated it was looking for long-term solutions to the plane debacle which affected Zuma and Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Last week in Parliament, Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula said getting a new presidential jet was unavoidable.

It would not cost R4bn, as widely speculated, she told media in Parliament.

The jet has been a point of contention in Parliament with some opposition MPs suggesting Zuma start using the state-owned SAA. – News24

Source: http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/presidency-accuses-city-press-of-sabotage-20160529

Visited 69 times, 1 visit(s) today