Pravin Gordhan slaps down Mosebenzi Zwane on Oakbay Investments  (Pty) Ltd

9 September 2016

The Minister of Finance, Pravin Gordhan's reply to my parliamentary question on his meeting with Nazeem Howa, Chief Executive Officer of Oakbay Investments (Pty) Ltd, is a massive slap down for the Minister of Mineral Resources, Mosebenzi Zwane, who heads up the the Inter-Ministerial Commission looking into the termination of financial services to Oakbay Investments (Pty) Ltd.

The Minister advised Nazeem Howa, Chief Executive Officer of Oakbay Investments (Pty) Ltd, in a meeting on 24 May 2016, that it was “legally impermissible” for him to intervene in a bank-client relationship and that the company should seek relief in the courts.

The Finance Minister’s approach is diametrically opposed to the Mineral Resources Minister’s approach, which was to recommend that the termination of financial services to Oakbay Investments (Pty) Ltd be investigated by a Judicial Commission of Inquiry.

The Minister also suggests that Nazeem Howa, Chief Executive Officer of Oakbay Investments (Pty) Ltd, deliberately misled him in the meeting when he claimed that no bank had provided the company with reasons for the closure of its accounts. 

The fact is that the Inter-Ministerial Committee should never have been established and President Jacob Zuma should act decisively by immediately: 

- shutting down the Inter-Ministerial Committee looking into the termination of banking relationships with Oakbay Investments (Pty) Ltd; and 

- firing the Minister of Mineral Resources, Mosebenzi Zwane, from his Cabinet.

In the end, the Minister of Finance, Pravin Gordhan, was absolutely right to show Nazeem Howa, Chief Executive Officer of Oakbay Investments (Pty) Ltd, to the door and tell him to seek relief in the courts.

Issued by David Maynier MP, DA Shadow Minister of Finance, 9 September 2016