Share

Editorial: Gordhan’s hopeless mission

The mood as Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan presented his budget on Wednesday was downcast. He had very little room to manoeuvre because of increasing debt, lack of economic growth and poor revenue collection, which fell short by R30bn.

But the elephant in the room as he delivered the speech was the overwhelming stench of dirty politics in the National Assembly. Gordhan somehow remained upbeat despite intense speculation that he is a dead man walking.

Last year, a week before the budget speech, the Hawks confirmed that he was being investigated for his role in a “rogue unit” within the South African Revenue Service (Sars).

If you believed in conspiracies, you would have concluded that the information was deliberately disseminated to destabilise the budget.

This year, just days before the budget, the ANC confirmed that former Eskom CEO Brian Molefe would be sworn in as an MP. Even a hermit would probably know that this is the first step in a move towards some kind of reshuffle by the president that will target the finance portfolio.

Coincidentally, around the same time, the ANC Youth League called for the restructuring of Treasury and the dismissal of Gordhan.

A week before, President Jacob Zuma had announced that government would embark on radical economic transformation, creating some sort of expectation about the budget.

To state the obvious, these are not ideal conditions under which the finance minister should be presenting a budget.

The economic climate already made it difficult for any bold initiatives or new ideas, but the toxic politics severely hampered Treasury, an institution that has been declared persona non grata by many of Zuma’s allies.

For its history of excellence and insistence on compliance with the law, Treasury has frustrated many in government who want to loot.

Zuma started its emasculation by appointing to Sars an ally who is great on the politics front, but thin on the expertise of running the place. We are starting to reap the harvest of that, as evidenced by the poor collection of revenue.

With Molefe hovering around, we are on the verge of witnessing further devastation on the economic front.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Do you think corruption-accused National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula will survive a motion of no confidence against her?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
No, her days are numbered
41% - 399 votes
Yes, the ANC caucus will protect her
59% - 563 votes
Vote
Rand - Dollar
18.94
-0.2%
Rand - Pound
23.91
-0.1%
Rand - Euro
20.43
+0.2%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.34
+0.1%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.2%
Platinum
910.50
+1.5%
Palladium
1,011.50
+1.0%
Gold
2,221.35
+1.2%
Silver
24.87
+0.9%
Brent Crude
86.09
-0.2%
Top 40
68,346
+1.0%
All Share
74,536
+0.8%
Resource 10
57,251
+2.8%
Industrial 25
103,936
+0.6%
Financial 15
16,502
-0.1%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE