ANCYL wants Gordhan axed as finance minister

In a statement about resolutions taken at the national executive committee meeting of the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) that took place between 4 and 6 February, the league briefly mentions that Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan needs to be “redeployed”.

In a long statement that touched on OR Tambo, tropical storm Dineo, the life Esedimeni tragedy and the Freedom Charter, which “ought to be respected and honoured” especially in relation to the “mineral wealth of the country”, the league most notably called for Gordhan to lose his job as a the head of Treasury.

The league said: “There must be restructuring of treasury administration and management starting with the re-deployment of comrade Pravin Gordhan.”

They gave no reasons for their antagonism towards the minister, who is understood to be at odds with President Jacob Zuma and those loyal to the president, including the league.

The youth league also wants a working state mining company “before the end of the current calendar year, legislation allowing for the establishment of the State Bank should be finalised”.

It wants the post bank to be converted to operate as “a state bank and the primary banker of government”. 

The statement also discussed “the recent developments in the financial sector [that] call for the following action to be taken:

“Speedily recover all monies owed by banks resulting from apartheid bailouts from all affected banks; the money recovered must be used to fund free education and Youth Development.”

Without offering evidence that it was the banks and not the axing of former finance minister Nhlanhla Nene that collapsed the rand in 2015/16, the league blamed the rand’s collapse on recent news of alleged banking collusion identified by the Competition Commission and which allegedly took place between 2007 and 2015.

They said: “Fine all banks involved in collusion that resulted in the collapse of the rand. The money recovered from fines must be used to support Youth Entrepreneurship. The 10% must be considered for increase to 18% on forex trading related revenue, considering they collapsed the rand to nearly R18 to US dollar.”

They want Absa’s banking licence to be withdrawn because it is allegedly “a repeat offender”.

They also want the Reserve Bank to be nationalised by 2018 and “Moody’s must no longer be invited to do any form of rating for South Africa, as they have been proven to be susceptible to corruption for which they recently paid a fine”.