No ministers appointed by Guptas - Zuma

17 March 2016

Parliament – The Gupta family has not appointed any minister to the Cabinet, President Jacob Zuma told Parliament on Thursday.

"I appoint ministers here," a confident Zuma said in the National Assembly, in response to a question from DA leader Mmusi Maimane on who was involved in the decision to remove Nhlanhla Nene from the finance ministry.

Zuma said opposition party leaders should ask the Gupta family, as he had no involvement in them issuing job offers.

The president’s relationship with the Guptas has been in the spotlight over the past week, with various high-profile members saying they had been offered Cabinet jobs by the family.

On Wednesday, Deputy Finance Minister Mcebisi Jonas admitted he had been offered a job by the Guptas and had rejected it.

Zuma said the only job he had ever offered Jonas was the deputy ministry and nothing else.

The president was not required to consult anyone before removing a minister or deputy minister, Zuma said on Thursday.

This article first appeared on News24, see here.