ON MY MIND
DAVID MAYNIER: ‘Malikanegate’ ahead?
Either the finance minister was lying when he said his economic adviser had been told to keep quiet, or he is too weak to ensure he does so
SA’s featherweight finance minister Malusi Gigaba’s first couple of weeks on the job have been a shambles. He has somersaulted between "radical economic transformation" and "inclusive economic growth", and between attacking orthodox and right-wing economists at treasury and supporting the skilled and experienced team working there. But the high-water mark was the appointment of Prof Chris Malikane — who has some mad ideas on the economy, such as supporting the nationalisation of banks, mines and insurance companies — as his economic adviser. The minister was forced into damage-control mode hours before departing for an international investor roadshow, desperately trying to reassure investors that not only did his economic adviser’s ideas not represent government policy, but that he had been "reined in" and told to "keep quiet". The slap-down was brutal and public, and suggested the adviser was a dead man walking. But Malikane has done anything but "keep quiet". Interviewed on SAfm, ...
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