Frustration mounts as Pravin Gordhan ducks Parliament

So annoyed were some MPs serving on the portfolio committee on public enterprises by yet another no-show on Thursday of Minister Pravin Gordhan before parliament that they called on committee chair Khaya Magaxa to summons him.

Gordhan was due to respond to allegations levelled against him by suspended director-general (DG) Kgathatso Tlhakudi, sparked by differing views over the decision to sell SA Airways (SAA).

Under pressure from the National Assembly speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and committee members to speedily resolve the Gordhan-Tlhakudi standoff, which has dragged for months, Magaxa resolved to offer Gordhan a final reprieve, arranging another meeting for next month.

Tendering a late-night apology to Magaxa through a letter dated 30 August 2023 – the day before the committee sitting – Gordhan said: “I wish to inform the committee that I will not be able to attend the meeting because of ill health.

“I have been advised this evening not to travel by air by a specialist doctor.

“I therefore request the committee to provide me with an alternative date to enable me to respond to the allegations.”

ANC MP Jabulile Mkhwanazi said: “The minister is playing games with us. After the meeting we held with the DG, we were supposed to finalise this matter.

“It was the minister’s office which requested that we see the minister and the DG separately, something we agreed on. After that agreement, we are now being taken for a ride.

“Similarly, the oversight we were supposed to have conducted at the SAA, was also cancelled in the 11th hour.”

Democratic Alliance MP Ghaleb Cachalia said he wished “to place on record that it is the second time that the minister has postponed this meeting”.

“This is also a last-minute cancellation that he presented to us last night, making it impossible for the chair to inform us.

“While the letter states reasons of ill-health, there is no medical substantiation provided.

“Yesterday, he was not able to attend our virtual meeting because he was attending Cabinet. Clearly, he was well enough to attend a Cabinet meeting but not ours.

“This is something that should be investigated.

“The only option left for us is that he must be formally summoned,” maintained Cachalia.

Describing Gordhan as playing a hide-and-seek game, Economic Freedom Fighters MP Nqobile Mhlongo, said it was “very disappointing that the minister is not here and we have many questions to ask him in relation to issues raised by the DG”.

She said: “The minister is running away from accountability.

“He does not want to come here and answer questions.

“We must not go to him, because he must come here and account.”

While the department of public enterprises has expressed concern about Tlhakudi’s conduct and utterances – claiming he has “embarked on an ill-conceived campaign to misinform and deceive the public”, Gordhan has delayed responding to the DG’s allegations.

According to Tlhakudi, President Cyril Ramaphosa and Gordhan had plotted to oust him because he disagreed with a plan to sell SAA.

He has also claimed to have been removed as the department’s lead on SAA business rescue at the beginning of 2021 after he warned against the intervention.

Gordhan suspended him because he feared his “wrongdoings” would be exposed.

He was removed from office because he was seen as an “obstacle” to the programme to dispose of state-owned enterprises like SAA “in a fraudulent and corrupt manner”.