Gordhan: ‘Who are the Hawks really serving?’

11 October 2016

Johannesburg - Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, speaking in Midrand, has responded to the National Prosecuting Authority’s decision to press ahead with charges against him.

Head of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Shaun Abrahams read a statement on the so-called rogue unit at the South African Revenue Service (Sars) on Tuesday morning.

Abrahams said that Gordhan has been ordered to appear before court on a charge of fraud over the Sars spy unit. The summons comes after Gordhan was instructed to report to the Hawks in August regarding investigations into the Sars rogue unit.

At the time of the announcement, Gordhan was attending an Open Tender Seminar in Midrand, Johannesburg.

Gordhan said an official statement will be released by his lawyers regarding the summons, which has been issued 15 days before the mini budget.

“South Africans must ask who the Hawks are really serving?” said Gordhan.

He further asked where the Hawks are getting their instructions from, and said he expects to be handed a summons to be in court on November 2.

Gordhan added that he received a phone call from his family that someone had come to his house to issue the summons this morning.

“These people know who my lawyers are and they know to make arrangements with them for me to receive summons,” said Gordhan.

Gordhan further said it is hard to focus on growing state revenue when the management of Sars is concerned about “non-existent rogue units”.

The NPA’s announcement on Tuesday has rattled the rand, which sank over 3% to the US dollar.

This article first appeared on Fin24, see here.