South African finance minister Nene resigns over Gupta scandal
Nhlanhla Nene resigned after he admitted to visiting a business family at the heart of a corruption scandal.
South Africa's finance minister has resigned after acknowledging
missteps during the scandal-tainted tenure of former president Jacob
Zuma while testifying in a corruption inquiry.
Nhlanhla Nene resigned over discrepancies in his accounts of meetings
with a business family at the heart of a corruption scandal, President
Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Tuesday.
"I have decided to accept his resignation," Ramaphosa told journalists in Cape Town.
Ramaphosa, who has pledged to clean up corruption and revive South
Africa's struggling economy, has appointed Tito Mboweni, a former head
of the South African Reserve Bank, as the new finance minister.
Nene faced calls to resign after he admitted to visiting the Gupta
brothers, friends of the former president Jacob Zuma who have been
accused of high-level influence-peddling, and failing to disclose the
meetings earlier.
Nene was initially hailed as a hero when he told the inquiry that Zuma
had fired him in 2015 for "refusing to toe the line" on projects that
would have benefited the wealthy Gupta family and others close to the
then-president.
Nene told the inquiry that it was his belief that his refusal to sign
off on a massive nuclear deal ultimately led to his dismissal in 2015 -
which saw the rand crash.
The Gupta family have been accused of using their friendship with Zuma
to siphon off billions of rand in state funds and of inappropriately
influencing cabinet appointments.
Both Zuma and the Guptas - who are at the heart of the inquiry into so-called "state capture" - have denied any wrongdoing.
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