CAIPHUS KGOSANA | SA owes a lot to the national treasures in the National Treasury

I never care much for the departure of top public servants because many of them are expendable. But when Dondo Mogajane announced he was leaving National Treasury after 23 years in service of this country, I must admit I was somewhat moved.

The Treasury is a fascinating paradox. It is from this grand colonial-style building on Church Square in Tshwane where decisions that shape this country are taken almost on a daily basis.

Chapter two of the Public Finance Management Act stipulates that National Treasury is “mandated to promote government’s fiscal policy framework; to coordinate macroeconomic policy and intergovernmental financial relations; to manage the budget preparation process (and) to facilitate the Division of Revenue Act”.

In simple language, it decides how our tax money is spent; who gets it, when, how, for what purposes? It has to ensure this money is used for the good of the economy.

We all know a chunk of our public funds ends up being wasted or in the back pocket of greedy rentseekers, but that’s a column for another day.

Naturally, any entity with that sort of power the Treasury wields is bound to be heavily contested. It is well known that ministers fear and loathe it in equal measure. It is the only institution that can tell not just a minister but the president to take a hike if they make unaffordable spending demands.

That is precisely what Treasury did when Jacob Zuma sent his henchmen to seek a commitment from it to support the procurement of nuclear power plants at a cost of R1-trillion and above as part of our energy mix.

That is precisely what the Treasury did when Jacob Zuma sent his henchmen to seek a commitment from it to support for the procurement of nuclear power plants at a cost of R1-trillion and above as part of our energy mix. Whispers from the corridors of power back in the day were that Zuma had made a commitment to his friend Vladimir Putin that Russian technology and expertise would guide us down this costly nuclear path.

In fact sometime in 2014, when Zuma was in Russia receiving medical care, the department of energy issued a bizarre communiqué announcing Rosatom — the Russian nuclear-power company — as the successful bidder of our nuclear build programme. This was later reversed when the obvious was pointed out to them: it is illegal to award such a gigantic contract without going through a public procurement process.

We mainly have National Treasury to thank for avoiding that expensive bullet. Last week, in an interview with me from his office, Mogajane, the outgoing director-general, opened up about how difficult that period was for him and colleagues. As deputy director-general in charge of public finances at the time, he had been specifically assigned by his then boss Lungisa Fuzile to work on costing and making a final determination on the feasibility and affordability of the nuclear programme.

Working with counterparts from the department of energy, they produced a 52-page document that spelt out in detail why this project was not affordable. They got a lot of flak for it, and at some point it seemed Zuma’s cabinet was prepared to defy this sage advice and go ahead with the nuclear build.

In fact, Nhlanhla Nene testified in detail about how his opposition to the deal eventually cost him the job of finance minister. He told the commission in 2018 how he was accused of “insubordination” after he refused to sign a letter committing SA to an agreement with Russia on the nuclear programme.

Tina Joemat-Pettersson, his then counterpart at energy, had drafted the letter and all it needed was the finance minister’s signature. But Nene stood his ground and refused to sign this blank cheque. Less than a year later he was shown the door and replaced with Gupta stooge Des van Rooyen, who thankfully lasted only four days before Zuma — in the face of a rebellion from within the ANC — was forced to reverse the absurd appointment.

Mogajane recounted other disturbing instances of how the Treasury rebuffed attempts at capturing it. He, Fuzile and other Treasury top brass even made a pact to resign en masse had Van Rooyen not been fired that fateful weekend in December 2015. We dare not forget what the men and women at the Treasury have done for this country. They love SA and even put their careers on the line to save it from plunging down the abyss of greed and selfish interests.

Mogajane departs in June to pursue private interests. We owe an immense gratitude to him and colleagues (past and present) who trotted down this noble path, some of whom are still serving SA with distinction. Where would we be without their courage, fortitude, foresight?

His parting shot to the leaders of government is to continue entrusting the Treasury to those who love SA and will always act in her best interests. Mr President, are you listening?