SIKONATHI MANTSHANTSHA: Malusi Gigaba’s friends

It’s not so long ago that we had to delve into the relationships that our rulers have. Brian Molefe’s tearful resignation from Eskom last year was triggered by his dealings with the Gupta family. At one stage he said he was proud to be a friend of theirs.

Our newly minted finance minister, Malusi Gigaba, seems not to be so proud of his Gupta connections. Not that that stops him from being seen in public with members of the controversial family, accused of capturing the state to slake their infinite enthusiasm for money.

At his first media briefing as finance minister last week, Gigaba eloquently but unconvincingly answered many questions about himself and his appointment to the post, at the expense of the widely respected Pravin Gordhan.

But Gigaba suddenly lost his appetite for the microphone once the Gupta family was mentioned.

Your correspondent asked him: "What is your relationship with the Gupta family? Do you have any bank accounts, or assets outside SA?"

This was a day after Julius Malema had accused Gigaba of being "corrupt to the core," and of being in the pockets of the Gupta family. We also asked Gigaba at the briefing: "Are you corrupt?"

Instead of clearing the air and taking the nation into his confidence, which all his positions as a cabinet minister have demanded during the past 13 years, Gigaba retreated to that old trick of evasiveness. He could only muster these words, in response to the question on corruption: "My lawyers will deal with that." Not even a denial. The other questions were met with absolute silence.

We followed up with 15 written questions to his spokesman, Mayihlome Tshwete, who promised to respond but did not do so.

Surely there’s nothing difficult in Gigaba telling us what his relationship is with the Guptas? He surely doesn’t need a lawyer to remember whether he has bank accounts outside SA.

As a cabinet minister, let alone a finance minister, surely that information is in the public interest?

But this is what happens when you mix with dishonest people: you cannot answer the simplest of questions without incriminating yourself. We have asked the Guptas similar questions. Needless to say, they find them quite difficult to answer too.

The question is: with such unsavoury friends as the Guptas, can Gigaba be trusted for a single day to run this country’s economy as the head of treasury? What is there to hide in his friendship with the Guptas?

Certainly his record at public enterprises leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. Both Eskom and Transnet, which fell under the control of the department, started jumping into far too many irregular contracts with the Guptas through The New Age newspaper and its television breakfasts, paid for with taxpayers’ money.

But the biggie is the nuclear supply contract that the Guptas want.

Eskom started awarding irregular contracts to Gupta mining companies without mining and water licences. To see the incompetence and possible corruption in Gigaba’s dealings at Eskom and Transnet, as well as SA Airways, you only need to read the public protector’s state capture report, which must have sent the tearful Molefe rushing off for a stiff drink at the Saxonwold shebeen.

Here’s the nub of the whole thing: if he is to be trusted by anyone with any brain cells, Gigaba has to come out and define the nature of his relationship with the Guptas. Evading the questions only serves to fuel suspicion about his motives and honesty.

It doesn’t help when a finance minister won’t even proclaim his own innocence without the help of a lawyer.