Punish corrupt politicians harshly – Gordhan

Former Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan has called for harsh punishment for corrupt politicians, similar to the arrest of leaders found involved in graft in Brazil. He also once again warned against promoting radical economic transformation for the benefit of a select few, says a report in The Mercury. Gordhan was delivering a keynote address at the University of Johannesburg’s leadership seminar yesterday. He challenged people to establish what state capture meant and who its beneficiaries were. ‘Let us all talk about connecting the dots. What does that (state capture) refer to, where is the money going and what are ordinary people deprived of,’ he said. People needed to understand the damage state capture was causing, he added. ‘A growing number of people find themselves in despair. ‘They are not beneficiaries of the kind of economic advances currently taking place.’ The capture of key institutions in the state machinery helped a select few to influence the policy direction or to blatantly ‘extract billions of rand’ from the volatile economy, Gordhan said.