In what seems like his strongest statement yet in defence of public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan, President Cyril Ramaphosa yesterday told parliament that the law must be allowed to run its course.
More importantly, he said that until Gordhan was found guilty or innocent by “the appropriate judicial institutions”, government would not take any action against the minister.
Ramaphosa was responding to demands made by EFF leader Julius Malema that Gordhan step down “until his name has been cleared”.
Gordhan in the meantime has taken on judicial review two separate reports by Public Protector (PP) Busisiwe Mkhwebane discrediting him.
The SACP, Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, Business Leadership SA, Amnesty International, Helen Suzman Foundation, Freedom Under Law and the Council for the Advancement of the SA Constitution have all since consolidated around supporting Gordhan.
And as much has been said and reported that the PP’s reports against Gordhan are in service of state-capture interests, particularly to deflect attention away from Jacob Zuma given what has emerged at the Zondo Commission, Ramaphosa has vociferously stepped into the breach.
The president told parliament: “I have appointed him to a critical and demanding position because I know him to be a person of commitment and integrity. He has endured and withstood extreme pressure both under apartheid and in the democratic era where he has been under pressure to abandon principle and to forsake his responsibility to the state.”
Ramaphosa reminded MPs that the PP’s reports against Gordhan were before court and that justice should be given due time and non-interference to complete its work.
