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ANC welcomes decision to summon finance minister on fraud charges

Xinhua, October 11, 2016 Adjust font size:

The ruling African National Congress (ANC) on Tuesday welcomed a decision by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to summon Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan on fraud charges.

The NPA announced earlier in the day that it would summon the minister and two other officials -- Oupa Magashula and Ivan Pillay -- to appear in court on fraud charges in relation to the investigation at the South African Revenue Service (SARS).

This refers to the so-called "rouge unit" set up by Gordan to allegedly spy on taxpayers when he was SARS commissioner between 1999 and 2009.

"We welcome today's remarks by the Head of the NPA, Advocate Shaun Abrahams, rejecting claims of political interference in the prosecutorial process," the ANC said.

The ANC rejected "conspiracy theories" against Gordhan, calling them "untested and mischievous".

These theories have had a detrimental effect on the South African economy and "we trust that today's announcement will move us a step closer to uncovering the truth from facts and bring this matter to finality," the ANC said.

The ANC urged all parties as well as external stakeholders to allow the law to take its course.

The ANC further urged Gordhan and others to fully cooperate with the NPA in order to bring this matter to finality as soon as possible.

"The presumption of innocence until proven guilty remains a sacrosanct principle of our law and the ANC has full confidence in our judiciary to act as final arbiters in these matters," ANC national spokesperson Zizi Kodwa said.

He said the ANC calls on interested parties to desist from public commentary, which would undermine due process or create further confusion.

Gordhan has said the "rougue unit" was lawfully established to perform very important functions for and on behalf of SARS.

But law enforcement agencies insist that Gordhan unlawfully set up the unit, which reportedly used millions of rand to spy on taxpayers.

The latest development came as international rating agencies are assessing whether to downgrade South Africa's sovereign rating to junk status. The spat between Gordhan and the law enforcement agencies added unease among investors. Endit