ANC statement on dropped charges against Cde Pravin Gordhan

31 October 2016

The African National Congress welcomes the decision of the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP), Advocate Shaun Abrahams, to discontinue fraud charges against Comrade Pravin Gordhan, Ivan Pillay and Oupa Magashula.

Informed by the constitutional principle of innocent until proven otherwise, the ANC always believed in the innocence of Comrade Pravin Gordhan, hence our unwavering support since fraud charges were preferred against him. Actions of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to charge Comrade Pravin Gordhan and others, have had a negative impact on the economy and created unnecessary speculations about the real motive.

The ANC calls on the appointing authority to engage the NPA leadership to avoid a repeat of this and to protect the independence and integrity of the NPA. 

Now that the charges have been dropped, we must continue to build on the trajectory of economic growth as envisaged and to create jobs as outlined by the Minister of Finance, Comrade Pravin Gordhan in the recent Medium Term Budget Policy Statement.  

Issued by Zizi Kodwa, National Spokesperson, ANC, 31 October 2016