Jonas threatened

Mcebisi receives text warning as he prepares to come clean on Gupta offer

DEPUTY Minister Mcebisi Jonas was threatened by a prominent businessman as he prepared to blow the lid on the Gupta family’s role in selecting a finance minister.

Jonas confirmed yesterday he had been approached by the family and offered the position before the axing of then finance minister Nhlanhla Nene in December.

While preparing a statement, Jonas received a text message saying: “Please keep your own counsel. Martyrdom is best left to Christ.”

People close to Jonas said he saw this as a threat, and that it was part of an attempt to prevent him from confirming his meeting with the Gupta family.

“Members of the Gupta family offered me the position of minister of finance to replace Nene, I rejected this out of hand,” Jonas said in the statement.

“The basis of my rejection of the offer is that it makes a mockery of our constitution and hardearned democracy.”

His revelation lends credence to allegations that the family, who are friends of President Jacob Zuma and benefactors to his son Duduzane, are trying to “capture” the Treasury to advance their own business interests.

Last night, the Guptas said suggestions they had offered anyone a job in government were “totally false”.

“We challenge Minister Jonas to provide a full account of the supposed meeting . . under oath, in a court of law,” they said.

“Minister Jonas is attempting to cover up and divert attention away from his own relationships and practices.

“We are confident questions about his own ethical standards will be exposed.”

However, City Press has revealed some of the details of the meeting at the Gupta family mansion in Saxonwold on November 27.

“The old man wants to make you finance minister‚” it quoted the Guptas as telling Jonas.

He had first been invited to a coffee date by Duduzane, who acted as the Guptas’ emissary ahead of Nene’s axing on December 9.

Duduzane had asked Jonas if he could meet with presidential emissaries. Curious‚ he agreed.

A stunned Jonas listened as two of the Gupta brothers told him that if he agreed to “work with us“‚ he would be enriched‚ the newspaper reported. “We’ll fix you up‚” he was told. The family said they would provide staff for him‚ and that he should get rid of certain senior Treasury staff, who the Sunday Times named as director-general Fuzile Lungisa‚ tax and financial sector policy head Ismail Momoniat‚ technical advisory sector head Andrew Donaldson‚ and chief procurement officer Kenneth Brown.

The president has consistently defended his relationship with the Guptas, claiming there was nothing untoward about it.

The revelation by Jonas not only disproves this but places the president in an awkward position before a crucial ANC national executive committee meeting this weekend. The SA Communist Party urged the ANC and its alliance to protect Jonas.

Second deputy general secretary Solly Mapaila said the SACP would “assure his protection” and that Jonas not be victimised.

The Treasury did not comment on the threats yesterday.

Jonas’s statement came amid intense speculation that he would be moved as deputy finance minister, possibly as early as next week.

Party sources said he could be “promoted” to minister, possibly trade and industry.

He would make way for parliamentary novice Sifiso Buthelezi, who was quietly sworn in as an ANC MP early this month.

As deputy finance minister, Jonas oversees the Public Investment Corporation, which handles more than R1.5-trillion in assets.

The unexpected promotion of an MP has been done before – with Mosebenzi Zwane’s appointment as mineral resources minister.

Zwane has been accused of doing the Gupta family’s bidding, including travelling with a delegation from the Gupta-owned Tegeta Exploration & Resources to meetings with Glencore in Switzerland to negotiate the family’s purchase of Glencore’s Optimum Colliery.

But Jonas appears to have political support.

ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe welcomed his frank admission, saying this was about a business developing into an “oligarch”.

“If oligarchs cannot be disciplined by the state, they discipline the state,” he said.

“We are going to develop into a mafia state where all that the state will be doing is to nurse interests of family businesses.”

Mantashe said when the ANC at its January lekgotla raised the danger of state capture, it was accused of embarking on a witch-hunt.

He said the party was now “heartened” that people were bold enough to come forward, and encouraged others to do the same.

But Mantashe would not be drawn on whether Zuma would be asked for an explanation at the executive committee meeting.

The ANC’s top brass had previously met the Gupta family and asked them to explain the allegations around their influence on the government and on state-owned entities such as Eskom.

A report on this meeting is to be presented to the NEC.

Mapaila was more direct about the course of action which should be followed by Zuma.

“The president is answerable to both the ANC and the country. He must account on this,” he said.

“We should be calling for the termination of his relationship with the Guptas to lay this matter to rest.”

In a two-page statement, Jonas said he admitted the meeting with the Guptas, based on his “conscience, political values and the best traditions of the ANC”.

He said “state capture” should be a concern to all South Africans.

“We cannot afford to ignore the obvious impact these sentiments may have on our country and the resultant potential of undermining our moral authority,” he said.

“Neither can we afford to allow the attempts to capture the state to divert us from dealing with the challenges that our country faces.”

He also placed on record that there had been no discussion about the matter with ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte.

“I have hesitated to speak out publicly on this matter until now‚ but I feel it is no longer possible to remain quiet,” Jonas said.

Former ANC MP Vygie Mentor this week also admitted to having been approached by the Guptas to take up the minister of public enterprises job.

She said in a Facebook post that the family had made the offer while Zuma was in the room next door.

The Presidency, however, denied the accusations‚ saying Zuma had no recollection of who Mentor was.

Claims have also been made by, among others‚ EFF leader Julius Malema‚ that Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula was told of his appointment as minister by the Gupta family.