THE government was running out of patience with outspoken critics of President Jacob Zuma in the business and mining sectors, and would soon hit back unless they started to behave themselves, Deputy Mineral Resources Minister Godfrey Oliphant said on Wednesday. Oliphant spoke to Business Day shortly after Anglogold Ashanti chairman Sipho Pityana unleashed his harshest attack yet on Zuma, calling him "the sponsor-in-chief of corruption" before a large audience of CEOs, fund managers and politicians at the annual Johannesburg Mining Indaba. Before Pityana took the platform, Oliphant, who spoke before him, issued a warning that he did not want to hear continued criticism of the government without any solutions offered and that a change in presidency could not be forced. Asked afterwards to explain Oliphant said: "We are just saying up to so far we’ve been patient but our patience is running out. "They are not angels. They can’t just keep rampaging and belittling the president in public...
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