Umm Mohammed Umar- 2016/04/22

The Congress of the People (Cope) says planned meetings of cabinet ministers with South Africa’s top four banks on behalf of Oakbay Investments is indicative of the Gupta family’s control over government.

This comes after Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe said Public Works Minister Thulas Nxesi, former police minister Nathi Mthethwa and former minister of public works and current High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Mr Geoff Doidge were to hold meetings with the banks to find out why they decided to close the bank account of the Gupta-owned company.

Cope’s Dennis Bloem says it is unheard of for cabinet ministers to become directly involved in a dispute between banks and a private company.

“Such a meeting was “unprecedented,” and has questioned whether any other company would get exactly the same support in like circumstances.”

Meanwhile The Economic Freedom Fighters has rejected outright Cabinet’s intervention into what it says are the  “private affairs of the Gupta family while the Democratic Alliance’s shadow minister of finance David Maynier says the intended meeting between the banks and the three ministers was “a mistake”.

Jeff Radebe claims government fears the banks’ actions could dissuade future foreign investment in South Africa.

(Edited by Faizel Patel)