South Africa’s finance minister’s probe must not scare investors: deputy president
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Probe
Singapore, Oct. 7, 2016 (Reuters/NAN) An investigation into South Africa’s Finance Minister must take its course but needs to avoid rattling investors, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Friday.
Ramaphosa made this known amid speculation of a power struggle in the ruling African National Congress (ANC).
An elite police unit is investigating Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan over a so-called “rogue spy” unit at the tax agency, set up when he was at its helm.
Some analysts said that President Jacob Zuma’s allies are driving the probe in a bid to oust Gordhan, which the president denied.
According to the report, the affair has rocked markets in the country.
The ANC suffered its worst-ever local election results last month, widening rifts in the ruling party that analysts blame on a conflict between Zuma and Gordhan.
Three weeks ago, Zuma and Gordhan sat side-by-side in a show of solidarity after weeks of speculation that the pair was locked in a bitter power struggle.
Ramaphosa said that while “nobody is above the law”, the way the situation has been handled by state institutions was a cause for “concern”.
“Nothing must be done to cause problems or difficulties in state institutions such as the treasury and also cause an imbalance on our economic future,” Ramaphosa said. (Reuters/NAN)
(Edited by Damilola Oyewole/ Julius Enehikhuere)