By Ahmed Areff.
Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan had to be whisked away by security guards when an event he was addressing on Thursday evening descended into chaos, with a group who claimed to be students screaming threats and racist comments.
Gordhan was talking about the future of state-owned entities (SOEs) at the Wits School of Governance, and as proceedings began, a group, apparently led by a man dressed in army camouflage jacket, who identified himself as Douglas Ngobeni from the Congress of SA Students, heckled the minister.
Gordhan’s speech largely dealt with what he said was an emerging force in politics and society that wanted to return the country back to corruption and a new form of state capture. He said a new state-owned holding company to consolidate SOEs, and minimise political interference, was the battleground in the new fight.
“We need to be frank with you and say there are a number of countervailing forces that will say that SOEs must remain in the old form. That they should be open to political management, but that they should also remain in a situation which makes them vulnerable to further forms of extraction and what I refer to as State Capture Version Two,” Gordhan said.
“What we have at the moment is all sorts of new narratives being put out, fake news being put out, masking of true intent taking place in one form or another in order to facilitate State Capture Version Two.”
When the speech ended, the group, which eventually spread out through the auditorium where the event was being held, refused to let any other attendees ask questions. They initially gave long-winded speeches that called for the resignation of both Gordhan and Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter. They also wanted Eskom to be put under Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe and for government to move away from partnerships with the private sector.
You are not going to intimidate us’
When Fin24 managed to get the microphone, a member with an ANC jacket immediately jumped in and wrested it away. When security guards attempted to get it back, the member, along with others, jumped on a table and began to hurl abuse at the minister.
Gordhan told the group he was not afraid of them, and that they were part of the same forces that wanted to bring back the state capture he referred to.
“I came here to have a discussion with you. You came here as an organised clique… in order to disrupt. You are the paid servants of the people I am talking about – people who want corruption to continue,” Gordhan said.
“Just remember, you are not going to intimidate us.”
The group called Gordhan a “sell-out”, and made several comments about his race, including that he needed to go and “eat roti”, and chanted “Pravin must go”.
One kept on shouting: “I am going to spit on your grave.”
Others shouted about “money hidden in couches”, in reference to the revelations by former spy boss Arthur Fraser about a heist at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala Farm in February 2020. Fraser alleged that $4 million (around R64 million) which had been hidden in furniture at the farm was stolen.
When the chaos would not die down on Thursday, the event was cancelled.
After the auditorium had cleared, the same group calmly and quietly gathered outside to drink and eat the refreshments offered by the organisers.