MEDIA STATEMENT

By Ministry of Finance

In respect of the statement released by The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), the following must be clarified:

- The Sunday Independent story, created an impression that the Hawks had sent the Minister of Finance a “new letter” over the weekend and this was not responded to. This was totally misleading.

- The last letter received from the Hawks is dated 3 March 2016. The minister’s legal representatives received it on 4 March 2016 and responded to it on 7 March 2016. That there is a letter that has not been responded to is factually incorrect.

- Those who leaked the letter deliberately sought to mislead and malign the person of the minister.

Notwithstanding that the Hawks have not responded to minister’s lawyers’ representations for further clarity, the minister has nonetheless instructed his legal team to prepare an adequate response.

The Minister would have liked to abide by the request of the Presidency and the ANC (as an NEC member) to not debate this matter publicly. However, once again the Hawks triggered a response because of their threatening statement.

Ideally, the minister will not be commenting any further. His focus remains on the vital work of the National Treasury.

Statement issued on behalf of the Ministry of Finance, 15 March 2016