Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba.
NEWS ANALYSIS
On the second day of the no-holds-barred ANC leadership meeting this week, Malusi Gigaba walked into the room late — to a standing ovation.
The former youth league leader’s long-held ambition to become South Africa’s number one received a shot in the arm after his controversial appointment as finance minister.
But it won’t be a walk in the park. His moves and utterances, now that he heads the most crucial portfolio in the Cabinet, will be closely watched by the markets. Already, he has been forced to tone down his radical economic transformation rhetoric from Saturday’s media briefing.
In his first public appearance as finance minister, Gigaba also created the impression that he did not see S&P Global’s decision to downgrade South Africa’s credit rating to junk as something to worry about. But his tone was completely different on Tuesday, as he reassured investors of his commitment to fiscal discipline and accelerating economic growth.
Gigaba is aware he will have to work hard to win the confidence of investors to put South Africa back on a growth path. But first he will have to dispel perceptions that he is there to serve the interests of the Gupta family. His explanation this week that he was not close to the politically connected family was not satisfactory to many.
“I’ve met a number of businesspeople at various places for a variety of reasons. Meeting somebody does not mean they have an impact on your decisions. They don’t impose decisions on you. Ultimately, I have my own decisions,” he said.
The finance minister said he had met the Guptas at The New Age/SABC business breakfasts and at Diwali celebrations, but these had not affected his ability to take “credible decisions about my work”.
In Indian tradition, not just anyone is invited to Diwali, unless they are seen as close family friends. Gigaba will have to do better when explaining his relationship with the influential family that has benefited financially from state-owned entities such as Transnet, Eskom and Denel that fell under Gigaba’s ambit when he was public enterprises minister.
There’s no clear evidence that the Gupta family secured state business because of Gigaba, but his close ties with the family do create that perception. It’s an open secret that the family did not see eye to eye with Gigaba’s predecessor, Pravin Gordhan, whose department investigated some of the deals in question.
The family has repeatedly denied wrongdoing. Gigaba’s decision this week to move a large entourage to the treasury — including his political adviser Thamsanqa Msomi, who served on the Denel board and is reported to have Gupta links — has raised eyebrows.
Any perception that Gigaba has been “captured” by the Guptas could hurt his political ambitions. He is seen by some in the ANC as a suitable candidate to become its deputy president in December and that of the country after the 2019 elections.
Gigaba’s popularity in the party became evident in 2014, when he was placed third on the list of the party’s public representatives in Parliament after President Jacob Zuma and Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa.
In 2012, he rose to number two on the ANC’s list of elected national executive committee members, after former African Union Commission chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.
He also serves on the party’s national working committee, responsible for its day-to-day operations.
Andile Lungisa, an ANC provincial executive committee member in the Eastern Cape, believes the party needs young leaders like Gigaba at the helm to remain relevant.
“He is a gentle giant of our generation. He’s a rare gem to find. He is the jewel of our generation. He does not drink or smoke. He only eats chocolate. He is sober 24 hours [a day],” Lungisa said this week.
But political analyst Ralph Mathekga said Gigaba needs to work on his credibility if he wants to be one of the ANC top six officials and the country’s future president.
“He seems to be very much in the pocket of the Guptas. That one he can’t deny. It is the biggest albatross hanging on his neck. The biggest hurdle to his career is not his ties with Zuma, but it’s because he is seen as a proxy to the interests of the Guptas,” said Mathekga.