Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba has put some distance between his Ministry and recently published comments by one of his advisers, Professor Chris Malikane.
The Sunday Times reported this weekend that Malikane had written an opinion piece in which he broadly argues for the nationalisation of the Reserve Bank arguing that the country had become a battle ground between white monopoly capital and credit-based black capitalist such as Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Finance Ministry said that it would like to place on record that the "opinion piece by advisor to the Minister of Finance Professor Chris Malikane was written in his personal capacity as an academic and activist."
"The views expressed in the opinion piece are not necessarily government policy. Professor Malikane is within his rights as an academic and an activist to contribute ideas to national discourse on any subject."
"Minister Malusi Gigaba wishes to place on record that the work of the Ministry of Finance will continue to be guided by policies of the ANC, as articulated in conference resolutions and in the 2014 election manifesto. The nationalisation of banks is not government policy," the Ministry said in a statement.
"The Ministry of Finance remains committed to leverage on all available policy tools - monetary, fiscal and structural - to achieving strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth."
"Minister Gigaba calls on all sectors of South African society to work together and support the work that the Ministry of Finance is doing to avoid further downgrades and in the medium term, to restore our investment-grade rating. Minister Gigaba will this week hold meetings with foreign investors in Washington at the IMF and World Bank Spring meetings in this regard.
Meanwhile, DA Shadow MP for Finance, David Maynier, said Gigaba was now in "full damage control" following Professor's Malikane's remarks.
"The fact that the minister is in damage control mode is proof enough that Professor Chris Malikane should never have been plucked out of the seminar room, where his mad ideas could do no damage to the economy, and appointed as an economic advisor, where his mad ideas can do damage to the economy," Maynier said.
"The minister seems to think that it is possible to "firewall" himself from his own economic advisor's mad ideas and that it is possible for his economic advisor to be left to "think aloud" as he takes on what he calls "right wing economists" at National Treasury."
"This is simply impossible and will no doubt send a chill up most international investors' spines and will ensure a hostile reception during the international investor roadshow in the United States," Maynier concluded.
