Nhlanhla Nene has stuck to his guns after his removal from the position of Finance Minister, claiming he has no regrets regarding the way he dealt with SAA’s Dudu Myeni.

Nene spoke to the Sunday Times and says he acted with SA’s best interests at heart. eNCA with more:

“I did what was supposed to be in the best interests of the country. What was in the best interest also of protecting the fiscus because a call on [SAA’s state] guarantees would’ve been quite disastrous. It would have had far-reaching implications and I hope that even beyond this there will be a process to try and arrest the situation.”

If you’re unsure of where the drama between Nene and SAA originates here is a nice little summary:

Zuma’s decision to fire Nene was rumoured to be sparked by the latter’s refusal to grant SAA permission to amend its plane-leasing deal with Airbus that was struck earlier this year.

Nene had warned the parastatal’s board that he would act against them if they went against their original agreed plan because missing the deadline would have been financially disastrous for the country.

However a week after his instruction to the SAA board, Nene was removed from cabinet by the president but Nene says he leaves the Treasury with a clear conscience and that his fight with Myeni (who is the also the chairperson of the Jacob Zuma Foundation) was not personal as he was just reprimanding the board for not doing what was supposed to be done on time.

I wonder if Nene is having himself a hearty chuckle now that replacement David van Rooyen lasted about as long as most people’s New Year’s resolutions.

#zumamustfall.

[source:enca]