National Treasury’s search for a new Director-General must be Gupta proof

15 May 2017

The Director-General of National Treasury, Lungisa Fuzile, who was central to the fight against state capture, looting and big spending, retires today after twenty years of service at National Treasury.

The process to replace him is reportedly already well underway with more than thirty applications having been received, including some applications from internal candidates within National Treasury.

There is a real risk that the appointment process will be hijacked and that a person who is more committed to serving President Jacob Zuma’s and his most important clients, the Guptas’, private interests, rather than the public interest, will be appointed as the next Director-General of National Treasury.

I will, therefore, submit a series of parliamentary questions probing the appointment of the new director-general to ensure the appointment process is “Gupta proof”, and that the successful candidate does not come with the Guptas’ “stamp of approval”.

In the end, Lungisa Fuzile served his country well for the past twenty years at National Treasury. We wish him well in his retirement and have a sneaking suspicion that he will not be farming for long. We hope he will bounce back and play an important role, perhaps in the financial sector, in South Africa.

Issued by David Maynier, DA Shadow Minister of Finance, 15 May 2017