DA “presumes” Brian Molefe will soon be appointed Deputy Finance Minister

The DA have called today’s swearing in of Brian Molefe as an MP “a major escalation in the civil war within the ruling party and the battle for control of National Treasury.”  The party say President Zuma is doing everything in his power to have the treasury in his grasp.

It is interesting that the DA believe Molefe will not replace current finance minister Pravin Gordhan, but will instead serve as his deputy. After Gordhan’s confidently defiant budget Speech the rumour mill is full of whispers that Gordhan may have done enough to keep his job, or at least make Zuma aware that getting rid of him would be disastrous.

The DA’s Shadow Minister of Finance David Mayer, says that Zuma will appoint Molefe as deputy in order to take control of the R1.8 trillion managed by the Public Investment Corporation. Mayer says wherever Molefe ends up in the “finance family” it will be a “clear-and-present danger to the institutional independence of National Treasury.”

The DA also still firmly believe that Brian Molefe remains influenced by the Gupta family. Mayer says once Molefe is part of Treasury the Guptas will have National Treasury, the Public Investment Corporation and South African Airways on “speed dial.”

If Molefe is sworn in as deputy finance minister and Gordhan keeps his job, we then have to ask what will happen to Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. Zuma (as in Jacob) is strongly believed to be looking for ways to introduce Dlamini-Zuma to his cabinet in order to give her a better political platform to campaign upon. If not finance where will she be deployed, if anywhere at all. For Gordhan and Dlamini-Zuma it seems that the political waiting game will continue.