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Gigaba is ‘unfit and unsuitable’ – DA calls for resignation of ‘Gupta puppet’

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DA leader Mmusi Maimane addressing supporters outside Treasury. Picture: Twitter/@Our_DA
DA leader Mmusi Maimane addressing supporters outside Treasury. Picture: Twitter/@Our_DA

Party leader Mmusi Maimane led the Democratic Alliance in a march outside Treasury in Pretoria this morning, and handed over a memorandum calling for the resignation of Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba.

The march follows several findings into state capture reports, that indicate the alleged involvement of Gigaba and the Gupta family into state matters.

“For the past three years, [President Jacob] Zuma and his corrupt friends have desperately sought after the keys to the national treasury, and to our country’s R1.4 trillion national budget. With the appointment of the Gupta puppet, Malusi Gigaba, the corrupt and the connected now have full access to the people’s money. We must stop the looting and stealing of South Africa’s resources by those who belong in jail, not in government jobs,” the DA said.

The DA accused Gigaba of being “unfit and unsuitable” to stand as the minister of finance.

After his appointment, the country reached junk status and unemployment reached “a record 14-year high of 27.7%.”

The DA also accused Gigaba, who acted in his capacity as home affairs minister from 2014-2017, of “rolling out the red carpet for the Guptas’ friends, employees, business partners to easily gain citizenship and access to the country, by fast-tracking dozens of visas to benefit Gupta businesses as they moved employees, associates and family members between South Africa, India and Dubai.”

The DA called on Gigaba to announce his resignation effective immediately.

Maimane was joined by Tshwane mayor Solly Msimanga, DA national spokesperson Refiloe Nt’sekhe, and DA Gauteng leader John Moodey.

Addressing hundreds of DA supporters outside treasury, Maimane said that a fight for the future was at stake.

“This fight is between those who are benefiting from the current corrupt system and those who believe we need to change this corrupt system totally,” he said.

He referred to the treasury as being “under siege” and that it’s been a “long-standing desire of Jacob Zuma and the Guptas to take full control of the treasury, in order to control the flow of all public money.”

Maimane said that since the appointment of Gigaba as public enterprises minister, his job was to “capture our country’s state-owned entities for the sole benefit of the Guptas”.

“He appointed to the boards of Eskom, Denel, Prasa, and Transnet, individuals who have been shown to be closely associated with the Gupta family. These include Brian Molefe, Anoj Singh, Iqbal Sharma, Nazia Carrim, Romeo Khumalo, Mark Pamensky, Marriam Cassim, Ben Ngubane, Kuben Moodley, and Viroshni Naidoo.”

The memorandum was handed over to treasury and signed by an official who accepted it on treasury’s behalf.




The treasury hadn’t responded to questions at the time of publication.


Avantika Seeth
Multimedia journalist
City Press
p:+27 11 713 9001
w:www.citypress.co.za  e: avantika.seeth@citypress.co.za
      
 
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