The South African Communist Party (SACP) has reaffirmed its condemnation of the the ongoing harassment of Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan by the Hawks.

Speaking after a meeting of its central committee‚ the SACP said: “No-one‚ whether comrade Gordhan or Hawks General Ntlemeza‚ should be above the law. But as numerous commentators have observed‚ the putative charges against Comrade Gordhan are a flimsy concoction without the slightest basis in law.

“They are designed as a pretext to remove Comrade Gordhan from office and weaken Treasury’s struggle against corruption and corporate capture.”

The party noted the denial of any political involvement in this matter‚ but also noted that after assuring Gordhan that he was not a suspect‚ and then pausing for the local government elections‚ the matter was suddenly back on the table.

“The timing has an eerie similarity with the events that unfolded between 2003 and 2007‚ when the timing of another prosecution attempt against a senior politician appeared to be coordinated around the political calendar of the ANC‚” the SACP said.

It said that over the last decade the ANC had battled to effectively handle leadership transitions.

“Back in 2003 the head of the National Directorate of Public Prosecutions‚ Bulelani Ngcuka‚ announced that‚ while there was a prima facie case against then deputy president Comrade (Jacob) Zuma‚ he would not be prosecuted. This statement placed Comrade Zuma‚ the ANC‚ and indeed the whole country in an untenable situation.

 “The current harassment of Comrade Gordhan bears an uncanny resemblance to those events‚ where judicial processes are used and abused for political ends‚” the SACP said.

SACP sceptical about Guptas selling their SA businesses

The South African Communist Party (SACP) says its treats the announcement by the Guptas that they intend to sell off all of their assets in South Africa by the end of the year to certain unspecified international interests “with a great deal of scepticism”.

It called on the Financial Intelligence Centre to satisfy itself that if any sales were affected‚ the Gupta family or close relatives were not the beneficial owners of the sale.

Speaking after a meeting of its central committee over the weekend‚ the SACP noted that the announcement – ostensibly for the benefit of South Africa and to save local jobs – came at a time when Gupta companies were reportedly under increasing scrutiny from the Reserve Bank‚ Treasury and the Financial Intelligence Centre.

“The announcement that the sale will be completed before the end of the year happens to coincide precisely with the 2017 date for the multi-lateral‚ international Automatic Exchange of Information (AEI) agreement coming into operation. The agreement provides for the automatic exchange of non-resident financial account information with the tax authorities in the account holder’s country of residence.

 “This will facilitate the discovery of formerly undetected tax evasion by way of illicit flows into foreign bank accounts. The AEI will provide South African authorities with much greater insight into the foreign bank accounts of South African residents‚” the SACP said.

“Given the over-valued and under-traded nature of Gupta-linked JSE interests we doubt that there will be much appetite for purchasing them. There is a strong possibility that the Guptas simply intend to sell their South African interests to themselves through their foreign-based investment venture capital operations‚” the party added.

It trusted that the Reserve Bank‚ before approving any sale from a resident to a non-resident‚ would ensure that there was full legal compliance with capital export requirements.

 “We also believe that our financial regulatory entities should ensure that money is retained in South Africa in a blocked account so that any potential penalties and liabilities are covered should further information emerge in regard to the wrecking-ball activities of the Guptas and their associates.”