Zwelinzima Vavi's statement on sacking of Finance Minister, 10 December 2015
The unceremonious and humiliating sacking of the former Finance Minister is nothing less than a shocking indictment of the way in which the current regime is mismanaging affairs on our behalf.
The dismissal of a Finance Minister, possibly the most senior and sensitive portfolio in the Cabinet, without stated reasons beggars belief, especially at this super sensitive time for the South African economy.
Many of us are asking how the leader of the Government, 48 hours after receiving a devastating credit rating, one point away from our country being described as a 'junk' investment destination, can see fit to 'relocate' the Finance Minister while praising him for doing well on the one hand, and then assigning him to an as yet unknown 'strategic position'.
The fact that no tangible explanation has been given have only confirms that the real reasons for his removal are not being stated. What is staggering, even accepting the President’s prerogative for the hiring and firing of Cabinet members, is that this drastic action was clearly not discussed beforehand. The silent compliance of other Cabinet members, not to mention Alliance leaders, increasingly resembles the orchestra on the Titanic who played on regardless as the unsinkable liner slid beneath the icy waters of the ocean.
It does not take a detective however to discern the real reasons for Nene’s relocation. It is emerging that the former Finance Minister raised objections about the SAA fleet purchasing debacle, and was unwilling to succumb to the wishes of the President’s personal friend and Chairperson of his Foundation, Dudu Myeni.