‘I still have a future in the ANC,’ says Gigaba

“I still have a future in the ANC and a long one,” former finance minister and ANC NEC member Malusi Gigaba said on Thursday.

Gigaba said this during an interview on The Clement Manyathela show on Radio 702.

In the 46-minute interview, he spoke about the incidents that led to his political downfall, including his time as ANC Youth League president; the FireBlade scandal; a damning Public Protector’s report; his infamous leaked nude video; the judiciary, as well as the lack of support he received from senior party leaders in the days before his axing.

Gigaba maintains that he still has a bright future in the ANC.

The former youth league leader was considered a rising star in ANC circles, often touted as a possible future ANC leader and president by those in the know.

His rise to power diminished when, in 2018, the Supreme Court of Appeal and the Constitutional Court upheld an earlier finding that he lied to the High Court in the Fireblade saga.

Also read: Zondo commission witnesses are ‘dishonest and disingenuous’ – Gigaba

The Public Protector also recommended that President Cyril Ramaphosa take action against him in terms of the Executive Members’ Ethics Act.

“I still have a future in the ANC and a long one but what that future will be, will be determined by members of the ANC. I hope not on the basis of taking bribes but on the basis of what young people believe are [in] the best interests, going into the future,” he said.

Comparing his political career to that of Ramaphosa’s and former head of state Jacob Zuma, Gigaba said he needed to press the reset button when powerful forces challenged his progression.

Gigaba said: “I do not think that I got the support, especially given the fact that senior people in the ANC administration had interfered in that situation and contributed to causing the confusion. I hold no grudges.”

Fireblade contract

Gigaba has been haunted by the North Gauteng High Court ruling that he lied under oath when he said he did not approve the operation of a privately-owned air traffic terminal owned by the Oppenheimer family.

Fireblade chairperson Nicky Oppenheimer in 2018 told Parliament that Gigaba agreed to the business operating at OR Tambo International Airport with Home Affairs customs services before allegedly reneging on that agreement.

Gigaba maintained his innocence, claiming judicial overreach.

In the 702 interview, he added the judiciary failed to take into account that the Public Finance Management Act prohibits the executive from awarding contracts.

“It actually still beats me how the PFMA was cast away by the court and instead [ruled that] the minister had awarded Fireblade, when several letters throughout that year including the last one I wrote in October 2016 had clearly stated that, in actual fact, I disapproved.

He said: “To claim that I lied under oath, I think was not only judicial overreach but it begs the question: what actually informed the decision that I had lied under oath when there was written evidence to the extent that I had not awarded Fireblade?”

Get rid of me

Gigaba said he did not have any support from senior leaders in the ANC during mounting pressure calling for his resignation in 2018.

“I do not think that I got the support especially given the fact that senior people in the ANC administration had interfered in that situation and contributed to causing the confusion. I hold no grudges.”

When the Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s report came out directing Ramaphosa to discipline Gigaba for lying under oath, Gigaba said the campaign against him intensified.

“A lot was happening to get rid of me. It was an intensified campaign to single me out, isolate me, besmirch me in so many ways. I guess they found their avenues and conducive environment to make this happen,” he said.

While he intends on one day placing the report under review, at the moment, he says he does not have the money for lawyers.

Gigaba also briefly touched on the leaked sex tape saying that his family suffered during that time.

“It’s something that I don’t wish on anyone. The use of such dirty tactics taints our politics.”

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