The Economic Freedom Fighters members of Parliament have threatened to boycott today’s budget speech, unless Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba is removed by President Cyril Ramaphosa. Gigaba is expected to deliver the budget speech today, amid speculation of a Cabinet reshuffle.
The party has labelled Gigaba a “Gupta stooge who was the engine of state capture under Jacob Zuma”.
Here are the points of contention:
• When Gigaba was still minister of home affairs, he aided the Gupta family in attaining South African citizenship as well as helped them to secure BEE deals with state-owned enterprises;
• When Gigaba was minister of public enterprises, he surrendered state-owned enterprise boards to “the Gupta syndicate”; and
• The EFF has also pointed out Gigaba’s alleged role in state-owned enterprises such as SAA, Transnet and Eskom, and how Gigaba was at the forefront of directly influencing the Gupta’s family and its associates hold on the parastatals.
“In June 2011 Gigaba announced wholesale changes to some state-owned enterprise boards; In Eskom he put the following; Nazia Carrim who is the wife of Muhammed Noor Hussain, family member of Gupta business associate Salim Essa; Romeo Khumalo who is a co-director with Essa in a company; Marriam Cassim who previously worked for Gupta company Sahara; Ben Ngubane who was in business with Essa; Kuben Moodley who was in business with Mark Pamensky – a board member in the Gupta-owned Oakbay Resources – and advised Gupta-aligned Minister of Mineral Resources Mosebenzi Zwane; Viroshini Naidoo who is Kuben Moodley’s husband,” Economic Freedom Fighters spokesperson, Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, said.
The EFF has described to Ramphosa the importance of the role of finance minister, and how the removal of Pravin Gordhan and Nhlanhla Nene “was a move to capture the public purse directly by the Gupta family. Without a compliant stooge as finance minister, they could not direct the funds of our country to their benefit with projects like the nuclear deal”.
Gordhan, who was then the minister of finance, was replaced by Gigaba when former President Jacob Zuma performed a Cabinet reshuffle in March last year.
“The EFF rejects Malusi Gigaba and will boycott the Budget Vote if it is him who will be presenting it. To avoid disruptions, we will stay away from the house for the entire country to see that Ramaphosa is sustaining the legacy of disreputable ministers like Gigaba, awarding them with the privilege of presenting the country’s budget which they have ensured it benefits corrupt interests of the Gupta syndicate,” Ndlozi said.