The 2018 African National Congress party conference that elected then Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa to succeed former president Jacob Zuma as ANC leader saved the country from “irreparable damage” by the Gupta brothers and their partners in crime, APA has learnt.
Commission of Inquiry into State Capture chairperson Chief Justice Raymond Zondo disclosed this in the latest part of his report on high-level corruption that he delivered to President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday.
In the report, Zondo alleged that Zuma and the Gupta siblings – whom the former president once described as family friends – had targeted the capture of the National Treasury, a move which would have left the institution with “irreparable damage” that would have affected the country.
This is because Zuma sought to appoint finance ministers, including Douglas “Des” Van Rooyen and Malusi Gigaba, who carried the blessings of the Guptas, according to the report.
But when Ramaphosa took office as president of the party and country, former finance minister Gigaba, who had been appointed by Zuma to advance the interests of the Guptas, was axed from cabinet.
“More damage could have been done to the National Treasury under Mr. Gigaba than any minister,” the report added.
Zondo cautioned that National Treasury nearly fell into the wrong hands, particularly in December 2015, after then finance minister Nhlanhla Nene’s dismissal and the appointment of Van Rooyen, alongside advisors linked to the Guptas or their associates.
However, the plan was thwarted when he had to move Van Rooyen to the Ministry of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs and re-appoint former finance minister Pravin Gordhan, Zondo said.
Gordhan and his then deputy, Mcebisi Jonas, were fired by Zuma based on a fake intelligence report, said Zondo, who described their sacking as a pretext to get them out of the way so the capture of the National Treasury could take place unhindered.
“The Guptas were very determined to capture the National Treasury before President Zuma’s second term of office expired. There was no time to waste,” Zondo said.
He added: “They (Guptas) knew, too, that he was not going to stand for the position of president of the ANC in the ANC’s elective conference in December 2017.”
The controversial Gupta brother fled South Africa when investigations into their alleged attempt to take over the running of the government commenced soon after Zuma was removed from power.
NM/jn/APA