Deputy Finance Minister Mcebisi Jonas’s acknowledgement that he was offered the Finance Minister’s job by the Gupta family is evidence of “a grave threat” to South Africa’s constitutional democracy, said Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) on Thursday.

It stated that Jonas’s statement required a decisive response from President Jacob Zuma, who alone had the prerogative to appoint Ministers and Deputy Ministers.

“If other senior public office bearers have had similar approaches, now is the time for them to take the people of South Africa into their confidence.

“Our government, the critical institutions of our democracy and, indeed, the citizenry of our country, must choose between being a society governed by law or one captured and directed by private interests,” it added.

The Banking Association South Africa also weighed in, commending Jonas for publicly coming forward about being offered the post of Finance Minister in 2015 by the Gupta family.

“This took moral courage and fortitude,” said Banking Association South Africa MD Cas Coovadia.

He said Jonas’s announcement confirmed a clear and worrisome trend that destabilised South Africa’s constitutional democracy and raised serious questions about the credibility of the State, particularly Zuma, in governing South Africa.

He added that “this state of affairs” inhibited attracting and retaining much-needed investment in the country’s economy and detracted from attempts to reaffirm South Africa as a global investment-grade destination.

“These are critical requirements to address the socioeconomic challenges facing our country and achieve higher, more inclusive economic growth,” he said.

The banking industry called on Zuma to demonstrate authoritative leadership by taking urgent steps to fix the situation and assure the people of South Africa that the Constitutional prerogative of the President to appoint Ministers was not abrogated and relinquished.

Concurrently, the Black Business Council (BBC) stated that these allegations came at the time where the country was facing an economic crisis, where there was lacklustre growth, high inflation and a risk of being downgraded by ratings agencies.

The BBC reiterated its call on government and business to engage the tough headwinds the country was facing to try improve its economic outlook and restore confidence in South Africa’s State leadership.

It strongly urged Zuma to move swiftly to address and allay any fears of State capture.

“We urge Zuma and the ruling party to deal decisively with these allegations and reassure the nation that our sovereignty has not and will not be hijacked by private interests,” it said in a statement on Thursday.

It added that, with the world economy in a prolonged fragile state, failure to implement corrective measures with immediate effect would result in drastic consequences and further deterioration of South Africa’s macroeconomic outlook. 

“These consequences would have damaging effects on the most vulnerable citizens of our country and black business in general – exacerbating job losses and crippling economic development and, thereby, undermining sociopolitical stability,” said the BBC.

It further highlighted National Treasury as an important institution that needed to be respected and supported if the country were to maintain stability in the economy and financial markets in the global environment.