From where public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane sits, the courts are unnecessary. She’s unilaterally granted an application that, in due process, the Black First Land First (BFLF) “movement” had abandoned. Go back to October last year when BFLF filed a notice of motion in the North Gauteng high court. BFLF sought a court order directing the minister of finance, then Pravin Gordhan, to comply with recommendations of the report from British spymasters CIEX; specifically for Absa to pay the fiscus with interest on proceeds from the R1.15bn bailout by the SA Reserve Bank of Bankorp (merged into Absa) during 1985-1992. At the time of BFLF’s litigation, the Gupta family had drawn Gordhan into a dispute over the cancellation of its facilities with SA banks. It doesn’t matter whether the timing was coincidental. What does matter is that, once Gordhan had answered on affidavit to the BFLF application, the court heard not another peep from this purported “movement”. According to Mkhwebane, the...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.