Editor's Note
A confederacy of dunces
For a scary few hours, it looked as though the motley crew of fools and tin-hat conspiracists would succeed in hijacking the economy
Mosebenzi Zwane? You mean the mining minister? No, we never see him," said a mining executive a few weeks ago. Zwane, the ex-teacher with a patchy political record from the Free State, was parachuted into President Jacob Zuma’s cabinet last September. Quite what he has done since then is anyone’s guess.Well, to be fair, he has done three notable things: escorting the Guptas to Switzerland to negotiate the purchase of Optimum Coal from Glencore last year; promising money to the families of workers trapped at the Lily Mine (cash they’re still waiting for); and fibbing that he had cabinet approval for a touted "inquiry into the banks" to probe why they had closed the Guptas’ bank accounts.It is the last of these, his bizarre statement last week about the banks, which should frighten every mining executive.In it, Zwane reported that cabinet had "resolved" to recommend that Zuma establish a "judicial inquiry" into the banks, probing whether it was right that banking licences are issued b...
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.