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Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan says he is prepared to confront allegations and aspersions cast against him but was unwilling to condone malicious sentiments being directed towards his daughter.
Gordhan expressed these sentiments during his closing remarks before the state capture commission on Wednesday.
The minister reiterated that it would be “very nice” if his critics would come forward under oath and provide evidence to substantiate allegations that they have been making outside the forum of the commission.
Addressing allegations against his daughter, Anisha, that have been circulated by the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Gordhan said such antics were unacceptable and merely meant to intimidate witnesses giving evidence before the commission.
“There has been a whole lot of wrong information presented to the public about my daughter’s involvement in malfeasance and I would like to correct this.
“My daughter joined Investec and there were investments made by the bank and not by my daughter. She was an employee, in a team of 12 private equity professionals. And never benefited from the investments as some people would have you believe,” said Gordhan.
The minister said the allegations that she used her relationship with him to gain financial benefit from government were false, and added that “she does not have any bank accounts in Canada and for the record neither do I”.
He clarified that the only time his daughter had been to Canada was when she went for a banking course.
EFF members, who have been picketing outside the commission’s Parktown venue, released information claiming that the party’s investigations had uncovered that Gordhan’s daughter had benefited in excess of R80 million from government tenders using her relationship with her father.
The party questioned why the minister’s daughter had not been “plastered all over the media in the same manner that Floyd Shivambu’s brother had been publicised without sufficient evidence”.
Responding yet again to the EFF’s accusations Gordhan said it was appalling that “people against the sitting of this commission would go to such lengths to silence witnesses”.
He said he had no problem with allegations being directed at him because he was prepared to defend himself, but he was not willing to have his family dragged through the mud.
Gordhan, who was on his third day of giving testimony before the commission, thanked the chair of the commission Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo for the opportunity to testify and asked him to look into the attacks against those who have and are will give testimony.
Zondo assured Gordhan and all the witnesses that he his legal team was “looking into what has happened and what is being said” and would be acting in due course.
