The Democratic Alliance(DA) says President Cyril Ramaphosa needs to make a decision on Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene’s future before Nene presents the Mid-Term Budget Policy Statement in Parliament.
There have been numerous calls on Nene to resign since he testified at the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture on Friday that he had met the Gupta family between 2010 and 2014 while he was deputy finance minister and then minister.
There are several reports that Nene has offered to resign.
DA Chief Whip John Steenhuisen says Ramaphosa must take into account the effect on markets and the economy.
Steenhuisen says this issue places a huge question mark over Nene’s trustworthiness and his commitment to accountability and transparency particularly as he is about to table the Mid-Term Budget Policy Statement, it’s going to be more difficult for him to deliver a message that will steady the markets and start getting the economy back on a correct footing.
He says: “Whilst he has done the honourable thing and apologized to the country, this doesn’t detract from the fact that a finance minister needs to have very strong credibility. I think Nene should do the right thing and offer his resignation. I think the President should assess that against who else could do the job and I think that if you look at the ANC benches, it is pretty slim-picking.”
