Zwane rebukes banks for ‘telling the government how to run the country’

Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane‚ who is a member of the three-member Cabinet team tasked with engaging banks over their decision to cut ties with the Gupta-family-linked Oakbay Investments‚ says engagements will continue until "we find each other".

“We will never allow a situation where the private sector dictates to government how to run this country‚” he said on Friday‚ speaking on the sidelines of the National Union of Mineworkers’ (NUM’s) annual central committee meeting in Pretoria.

• Transnet deals fall into Gupta man's lapA close Gupta associate is set to profit from lucrative mystery-shrouded Transnet contracts that are under investigation by the National Treasury. 

The broader concern centred on individuals waking up to find their accounts closed‚ without the government having recourse‚ said Zwane.

• Why banks ditched the GuptasIn the current political environment of media leaks and vendettas, it is perhaps surprising that no one in the media has managed to find out exactly why it was that Barclays Africa decided to close the bank accounts of the Gupta-owned Oakbay Investments. 

The government would ensure a solution‚ even if it meant establishing a state bank‚ he said.

• Mines minister Zwane says he is in talks with banks over Gupta firmMining minister Mosebenzi Zwane said on Wednesday he had spoken to local banks that have cut links with Oakbay Investments, a holding company owned by the Gupta family, to restore the ties in a bid to try and save jobs at the company. 

In May‚ ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe urged the government not to meddle in the relationship between the Guptas and their banks‚ saying the state must allow them to sort out their differences.

Mantashe’s remarks pointed to the difference in thinking on the Gupta saga among senior leaders of the governing party. He said the government task team should instead approach the banking regulator — the South Africa Reserve Bank — for clarity on the matter.

Leading banks Absa‚ FNB‚ Nedbank and Standard Bank withdrew their services from the family‚ as did their auditors‚ KPMG‚ and JSE sponsor Sasfin.

In May it was also reported that Zwane and Deputy Mineral Resources Minister Godfrey Oliphant secured a meeting with at least one bank CEO — Standard Bank’s Sim Tshabalala — but failed to persuade him to disclose any details around the closure of the Gupta family’s Oakbay accounts.

Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan‚ who was also part of the team that the Cabinet tasked with "finding a lasting solution to the matter"‚ was advised of the meeting‚ which took place at Zwane’s office in Pretoria‚ but reportedly did not attend.

The controversial Gupta family came under pressure after Deputy Finance Minister Mcebisi Jonas disclosed that family members had offered him the finance minister position before the axing of former minister Nhlanhla Nene‚ in December last year.

Earlier in his address on Friday‚ Zwane said that as the South African mining industry shifted toward the exploitation of less accessible deposits‚ it must have a tough conversation with itself over future employment levels in the sector.

He said the “upskilling” of mineworkers needed to be accelerated‚ especially as the sector continued to face tough economic conditions and future mechanisation.

About 700 NUM delegates were in attendance on the first day of the two-day meeting in Pretoria. The union is expected to work to resolve difficult questions of finances and organisation‚ after haemorrhaging members in the mining sector since 2012. To date it has lost 36% of its members due to both inter-union rivalry and retrenchment.

“In the past three years we have granted 80 mining rights with a potential to create in excess of 22‚000 much needed jobs‚” said Zwane.

However‚ although SA has more than R1-trillion worth of mineral reserves‚ much of these deposits are in areas that are difficult to reach‚ pointing to future mechanisation of the sector.

“This may not be a popular view‚ but we must question what this means for future workers prospects‚” said Zwane.