Play the ball and not the man, pleads Gordhan
Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan came out in full defence of his daughter Anusha at the commission of inquiry into state capture on Wednesday.
Gordhan concluded his testimony after three days on the stand.
“I want to repeat the fact, let us not play the man but play the ball. If there are political objectives that anyone wants to achieve, come to me and direct your attention to me. I will answer for whatever I have to answer for. Don’t choose vulnerable targets,” Gordhan pleaded.
Gordhan’s comments come after a rally by the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) outside the commission’s offices in Parktown on Tuesday.
EFF leader Julius Malema told his supporters that the party has evidence of wrongdoing against Gordhan and his daughter, Anusha.
A recent tweet by Malema claims that Anusha has received more than R80 million worth of government tenders.
Meet Anusha Gordhan, the daughter of #PravinGordhan. From only 11 ministerial responses we can confirm that she got tenders worth more than 80 million after her father was appointed Minister of Finance. Let's make her famous because the media won't show her face. pic.twitter.com/9Nebf6v5c1
— Julius Sello Malema (@Julius_S_Malema) November 20, 2018
Gordhan has denied the allegations, saying his daughter has never done any business with the state.
“Yesterday, while we were here, there were a whole lot of wrong information about my daughter that was put up in the public domain. This information about my daughter is for the public to understand that she has not engaged in any malfeasance of any kind.
“The allegations of using the relationship with myself to get access to gain access to government tenders to benefit these companies is a blatant lie. These dangerous and unfounded allegations have been made to intimidate and harass my family and myself."
Gordhan challenged those with information of any wrongdoing to present their evidence before the commission.