Is Nhlanhla Nene on his way out?

The future of embattled finance minister Nhlanhla Nene hangs in the balance after his testimony at the Zondo commission of inquiry into state capture exposed his full dalliances with the Gupta family, contradicting his previous statements about the extent of his contact with the notorious family.

Opposition parties have called for Nene to either resign or be fired from his position as finance minister, following his revelations at the commission that he had multiple meetings with the controversial Gupta family.

A senior government official said yesterday that Nene was expected to resign of his own accord.

“It is becoming tense for him. We have been worried about him,” the official said.

The official said if Nene did not resign, President Cyril Ramaphosa could remove him when he announces his second Cabinet reshuffle soon.

The death of Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa has created a vacancy in Cabinet.

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and the DA upped the ante yesterday, calling on Nene to step down.

Ndlozi said Nene must reveal the details of the meetings he had with the Gupta family.

“He must come clean about what those meetings were about. We cannot have a person leading the finance resources of the country meeting questionable characters,” he said.

DA leader Mmusi Maimane said the revelations surrounding Nene showed that the rot of state capture went much deeper than former president Jacob Zuma and the Gupta family.

“There is no good ANC and bad ANC. There is one ANC. It is quite clear that the whole ANC is implicated. That is why the DA has approached the Zondo commission calling for a list of 12 individuals, including President Ramaphosa and his deputy, David Mabuza, to appear and account,” Maimane said.

Nene has also been accused of conflict of interest because he was the chairperson of the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) when it facilitated business deals for his son, Siyabonga Nene.

Maimane said the fact that Nene’s son was profiting from connections to the PIC was a prime example of the way the ANC’s ecosystem of corruption and nepotism worked.

“In terms of Minister Nene, he needs to give a full account of what he knew, when he knew and if he didn’t know, why not? Now is not the time for secrecy,” he said.

On Friday, Nene apologised for meeting the Gupta family at their business premises in Midrand as well as their residence in Saxonwold in Johannesburg between 2010 and 2014.

“Part of my duty as a public office bearer is to meet fellow South Africans and other stakeholders when they request to do so. However, I was wrong in meeting the Guptas at their residence and not in my office, or at least a public place. I should also have disclosed early, and fully, the details of these meetings, in particular those that took place in Saxonwold,” Nene said in a statement.

He admitted that his several visits to the Gupta family cast a shadow on his conduct as a public office bearer.

The DA’s shadow minister of finance, David Maynier, said there were a still a number of questions relating to investments that may have benefited Nene’s family that needed to be answered.

“That is why I have requested the public protector, Busisiwe Mkhwebane, to investigate this matter. If, after a full investigation, it emerges that the minister did breach the executive code of ethics, I would expect him to do the right thing and resign immediately,” Maynier said.

Nene was sacked by Zuma in December 2015 and was replaced by Des van Rooyen who was forced out four days into his job and replaced with Pravin Gordhan.