State capturers can’t be allowed to win on Gordhan

The hyenas seem to be circling Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan, sensing that he has been wounded politically, following the recent claim by Deputy President David Mabuza that Gordhan misled President Cyril Ramaphosa about possible Eskom load shedding.

All sorts of politicians and those pushing the line of the “fightback” faction in the ANC (those loyal to former president Jacob Zuma and those who have probably benefitted from state capture) have upped the pressure on Ramaphosa to remove Gordhan from his post, supposedly for incompetence for failing to turn around the collapsing power utility.

A common feature linking many of those calling for Gordhan’s head is that they themselves have been accused of, or linked to, looting. It is not surprising that they would want to remove Gordhan who, of all the senior officials of the ANC, has appeared to be the one most committed to cleaning the organisation’s very dirty house.

The campaign against him has climbed up a gear over Eskom, but it began when he was making his comeback after Ramaphosa took over the reins of the ANC at the Nasrec conference at the end of 2017. Gordhan had stepped aside during the Zuma era, clearly expressing his distaste for what was happening then.

The attacks on Gordhan have consisted of crude attempts at smearing him with lies, but have also worryingly included overt racism, playing on his Indian heritage. That confirms the racist nature of his opponents, but also emphasises that many of their ideas are fundamentally based on skin colour and the politics of hatred.

Gordhan has made himself enemies – mainly because he has a very well-developed sense of self-confidence and because he does not tolerate fools lightly.

But this is about more than personalities. If Ramaphosa dismisses or moves Gordhan, the capturers will have won.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.