Two people who face serious claims of misconduct now work under minister Pravin Gordhan.
Pravin Gordhan has dismissed reports that he resigned as finance minister during a meeting with President Jacob Zuma and other top six officials at the ANC’s headquarters on Tuesday.
The Gupta family-owned ANN7 news outlet quoted anonymous sources in a report that claimed Gordhan had resigned.
An NEC member, who did not want to be named, earlier confirmed to the Mail & Guardian that Gordhan had not resigned, and when asked by journalists outside the high court in Pretoria if he is still the minister of finance, Gordhan reluctantly said “yes.”
Gordhan and the director general of the national treasury, Lungisa Fuzile, spent most of the morning at Luthuli House in Johannesburg after being instructed to return from an approved international investor roadshow “immediately”
Former African Union chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma was also seen at Luthuli House this morning, fueling speculation that she would replace Gordhan in an imminent Cabinet reshuffle.
After leaving the meeting with ANC bosses, director general Fuzile told journalists that he has still not been provided with reasons about why the treasury delegation had to return.
Gordhan has since arrived at the high court in Pretoria where he is seeking a declaratory order from a full bench of three high court judges on whether he is allowed to intervene in a bank and client relationship.
The minister entered courtroom 8E along with his deputy Mcebisi Jonas on Tuesday afternoon around 3.15pm.
Gordhan’s appearance in court is interpreted by officials close to him as a message to the public saying that he has not been kicked out of his job.
This comes after Gupta TV channel ANN7 broadcasted over several hours that Gordhan has either resigned or been kicked out by the ANC.