MEC Creecy must break her silence on Gordhan sacking

6 April 2017

During her 2017 budget speech, Gauteng Finance MEC, Barbara Creecy made frequent reference to the objectives former Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan was attempting to achieve during his tenure.

Specifically, she committed the Gauteng Provincial Government to the fiscal path pursed by Gordhan by saying "The Gauteng Provincial Government understands the imperatives facing National Treasury and continues to endorse Minister Gordhan’s call to manage our finances in a prudent and sustainable way."

Subsequent to Minister Gordhan's recall from an investment roadshow, the fake intelligence report, the midnight ministerial change and the ratings downgrade, it appears as though MEC Creecy has gone to ground, failing to speak up for fiscal discipline and against state capture.

If the Gauteng Government and the Gauteng ANC are truly committed to good governance and sound economic policy, then MEC Creecy should publicly affirm this commitment in light of recent events.

The ratings downgrade, plummeting currency and inflationary risks threaten the living standards of the people of Gauteng, especially the poor.

This dark hour in our country is not the time to stay silent, and MEC Creecy owes the people of Gauteng a strong response to the pain President Jacob Zuma has inflicted on the country over the last week. This is not the time for political survival in the ANC for the sake of a salary or position.

The DA calls on MEC Creecy to speak out against the dismissal of Gordhan and Zuma's economic mismanagement as a matter of urgency, and join civil society in calling for the removal of Zuma as president of our country. History will judge her for the path she chooses.

Issued by Ashor Sarupen, DA Gauteng Spokesperson on Finance, 6 April 2017