Jonas hits back at Ajay Gupta claims

Ajay Gupta's allegations of ‘blatant dishonesty’ by Deputy Finance Minister Mcbesis Jonas in his testimony recorded in the Public Protector’s State of Capture report regarding a meeting at the family’s home in Saxonwold have been challenged by Jonas in a responding affidavit. The war of words is contained in papers filed at the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) by several parties in the application brought by Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, who is seeking an order declaring he cannot interfere with decisions by the big four banks to close the accounts of Gupta businesses. In her report, notes Stephen Grootes on the Daily Maverick site, former Public Protector, Advocate Thuli Madonsela, detailed the evidence she’d received from Jonas about this meeting. He explained that he had ended up at the Gupta home/compound/city block on 23 October 2015. During that meeting he’d been told by a member of the Gupta family that they could ensure he would be promoted to the position of Finance Minister, and that if he did what was asked, he would receive a sum of R600m. As a detail, he also mentioned that there was R600 000 available for him to take right away, in cash.