Mantashe’s comments point to the difference in thinking on the Gupta saga among senior leaders of the governing party.
Leading banks — Absa, FNB, Nedbank and Standard Bank — withdrew their services from the family, as did their auditors KPMG and JSE sponsors, Sasfin.
Reuters reported on Tuesday that Mutual and Federal had joined other companies in cutting ties with firms associated with members of the Gupta family. A document showed that Mutual and Federal, through its underwriting arm, Credit Guarantee Insurance Corporation of Africa, had withdrawn its cover for Oakbay Investments.
Although these companies did not give reasons, citing client confidentiality, speculation is rife that the political controversy surrounding the family could have resulted in their collective action.
The Guptas are close to President Jacob Zuma and are in business with his son, Duduzane. The Cabinet has formed a task team made up of Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant to engage the banks on the closures.
But Mantashe said it was not the responsibility of third parties to meddle in the relationship between the Guptas and their banks. Instead, the government task team should approach the banking regulator — the SA Reserve Bank — for clarity on the matter. A client and a bank had to “develop a relationship and be able to engage”, he said.
“It can’t be our responsibility to talk or mitigate in that.”
Mantashe added that “you cannot underestimate the importance of compliance with the law, people must comply with the laws of the country and that’s it”. But the fact that the banks’ move seemed to be co-ordinated was a concern, and the government task team should approach the regulator, he said.
“My starting point,” Mantashe said, “would not be developing some narrative that has no basis, it would be to go to the regulator (and say), ‘please find out what is this co-ordinated approach’ and then once you do that, then you will save yourself of speculating about the motive. At this point in time, everyone is shooting from the dark,” he said. There were two parties the banks were obliged to disclose information to — the regulator and law enforcement.
Mantashe expressed concern that workers were affected by the move to close the accounts. At a political level, the concern was not about a “particular family”, but about the ability of the banks potentially to close a company.
“What happens between a bank and their client is less of our business, it has nothing to do with us.” But, he said, the implications were far-reaching.
“What should happen is we must be saved from speculating.”
Those sympathetic to the Guptas have claimed the account closures were big business-driven to squeeze out the politically connected family.
The controversial Gupta family came under pressure after Deputy Finance Minister Mcebisi Jonas revealed that family members had offered him the finance minister’s position before the axing of former minister Nhlanhla Nene in December last year.
When Mr Jonas demurred, the post was given to backbencher Des van Rooyen, a move that saw markets falling and resulted in R95bn being wiped out of the government pension fund.
The Cabinet effort seems to have been stillborn, though. City Press reported that Absa refused to meet Mr Zwane, citing client confidentiality. It is also unclear whether Mr Gordhan will take part in an effort that is likely to undermine the efforts of regulatory bodies in his department. He was unexpectedly appointed to the government task team in his absence.
On Tuesday, Oliphant said she and Cabinet colleagues met some financial institutions on the Oakbay Investments issue.
She would not disclose the meeting’s outcome, nor who had participated, saying that the Cabinet would issue a statement.
