/ 21 February 2017

ANC says Brian Molefe to be sworn in as an MP tomorrow

Under then-Transnet chief executive Brian Molefe
Under then-Transnet chief executive Brian Molefe

UPDATE, 1.35pm: ANC Parliament spokesperson Nonceba Mhlauli says that the ANC retracts its statement that Brian Molefe will be sworn in as an MP tomorrow. Mhlauli said that the office of the speaker has not confirmed the date Molefe will be sworn in on. 

Brian Molefe will be sworn in as an MP on Wednesday – the day Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan appears before Parliament to present his budget speech.

Nonceba Mhlauli, the spokesperson for the ANC caucus in Parliament, has confirmed to Jacaranda radio station that the swearing in ceremony will take place tomorrow. Mhlauli also confirmed that ANC MP Makhosi Khoza, who is a member of Parliament’s standing committee on finance, would be moved to the public service and administration committee, leaving a vacancy open in the finance committee.

“As the ANC caucus comrade Molefe will only be deployed in a committee once he is sworn in. The caucus leadership and Molefe will sit down and decide which committee he will be best suited to serve on,” Mhlauli said.

The announcement comes after fervent speculation that Molefe has been positioned to become the next finance minister in a move that would allegedly oust Gordhan. 

But Molefe has been shrouded in controversy for his link to the Guptas – as suggested in the public protector’s State of Capture report. Following the release of the report, Molefe resigned as chief executive of Eskom.

Molefe’s role in the ANC has also been questioned. Although he is said to be a member of the ANC in the North West, former ANC North West deputy chairperson China Dodovu said in a statement over the weekend that Molefe has never done any work in the ANC structure in the province.

“The current ANC leaders in the North West know that Brian Molefe is not a resident of the North West. He never served in the ANC structures in North West. The national leaders know this too. But as to why they are setting such a bad precedence [sic] unseen and unknown in the ANC remains a mystery‚” said Dodovu.

Others, however, have disputed Dodovu’s claims. North West ANC secretary Dakota Legoete released a responding statement saying Molefe is a member of the Ward 29 Madibeng sub-region in Brits‚ North West.

“Many people know comrade Brian as a former Eskom chief executive officer‚ but we in the ANC and in particular the ANC in Bokone Bophirima‚ know him as a fellow hardworking comrade who’s committed to contributing to the success of this democracy,” Legoete said.

There has been no confirmation that Molefe will indeed be sworn in to take over the finance ministry, and the ANC national executive committee said that it did not discuss removing Gordhan as finance minister at its special meeting on Monday. 

ANC structures loyal to Zuma have, however, called for Gordhan to be axed. The party’s women’s league, youth league and military veterans have been vocal in calling for Gordhan to be removed, placing increasing pressure on the finance minister ahead of his budget speech.