EFF’s Shivambu goes on the attack against Gordhan

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) yesterday used Pravin Gordhan’s appearance before the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture to launch an offensive at the public enterprises minister, the African National Congress and Tiso Blackstar, with the party’s deputy commander-in-chief Floyd Shivhambu warning that he will today be asking the Justice Department in parliament on what led to the choice of the inquiry venue.

Addressing a sea of hundreds of red-clad, singing and chanting supporters outside the Parktown venue of the commission, Shivhambu said Gordhan was “the biggest defender of state capture”.

Amid loud cheers, Shivhambu said: “Before 2009, he was nothing.

“He led a rogue unit at Sars where he was commissioner. He gathered the spy tapes, which he used to bargain with Jacob Zuma. It is also not true that he was not working with the Guptas. Why is he only disclosing it now, that he met the Guptas?

“When we asked him in parliament in 2016 whether he had met the Guptas, he could not give a straight answer.”

Shivhambu claimed that Gordhan was “the biggest fund raiser for the Guptas”.

“Even now, he is fund-raising for Cyril Ramaphosa. We’re going to liberate you from liars. It is not just R500 000 but billions of rand that went to Ramaphosa’s ANC presidential campaign. This means that the ANC membership is up for sale.

“We must not allow your membership to be bought. They will offer you T-shirts and food parcels,” said Shivhambu.

Critical of the choice of the venue for the commission hearings, he said he would raise the matter with the department of justice in parliament, on why the Tiso Blackstar-owned building was chosen.

“We want to find out how much justice paid and who benefitted for the use of this building?” asked Shivhambu.

He said Gordhan was on a mission to get rid of African leadership in state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and replace them with people close to him.

“I say this because he wants to privatise Eskom,” said Shivambu.

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