NEWS ANALYSIS: Judges dodge the politics that Gordhan brought to light
The judgment made it clear the activities of Mosebenzi Zwane’s interministerial committee were impermissable, writes Carol Paton
The significance of Pravin Gordhan’s application asking the court to keep the Guptas at bay, which he lost on Friday, was always more political than legal. Gordhan, and everyone else for that matter, knew from the start that the finance minister could not lawfully intervene in the relationship between the Guptas and the banks that closed their accounts. As the judgment noted, the minister does not have the legal power to do so. This had also been previously confirmed by case law. Even though Gordhan’s application was for a declaratory order to this effect, obtaining legal clarity was never the point. The point was to place the Guptas, their dealings and their relationship with certain members of the Cabinet in the spotlight. It was also to rein in Mining Minister Mosebenzi Zwane, who, under the cover of a cabinet decision and with the support of President Jacob Zuma, formed an interministerial committee that exerted direct political pressure on the top executives of the banks.Despit...
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