South Africa: Public prosecutor to investigate Zuma

South African president Jacob Zuma’s leadership of the country appears even more shaky as the Public Protector – the nation’s top anti-corruption watchdog, will approach the national treasury for funds to investigate whether he breached the Executive Members Ethics Act.

The investigation by Public Protector Thuli Madonsela followed a formal request by Mmusi Maimane, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Alliance party, for a probe into whether Zuma was involved in the alleged offer of ministerial positions by members of the Gupta family, Madonsela’s spokeswoman Kgalalelo Masibi said by phone Tuesday. Zuma has described the Guptas, who are in business with his son, as his friends.

In the past week, other senior officials have also accused the Gupta family of wielding undue influence in government activities.

The Guptas, whose businesses stretch from media to mining, have denied offering government jobs and say they are pawns in a plot to oust Zuma.

The allegations over the Guptas have fueled disgruntlement with Zuma that peaked in December when he replaced his respected finance minister, Nhlanhla Nene, with a little-known lawmaker, sparking a selloff of the South African rand and the nation’s bonds. Four days later, Zuma reappointed Pravin Gordhan to the post which he had held from 2009 to 2014, after coming under pressure from the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party and business leaders.

Gordhan has been trying to bolster investor confidence in an economy that’s set to grow less than 1 percent this year and is threatened by a credit-rating downgrade. Standard & Poor’s has a negative outlook on its BBB – rating, one level above junk. While Moody’s Investors Service rates South Africa’s debt one notch higher, its has put the nation on review for a downgrade.

The South African rand declined as much as 16 percent against the U.S. dollar in the weeks after Zuma fired Nene on December 9.

Two ANC members, including Deputy Finance Minister Mcebisi Jonas, have said that the Guptas offered them ministerial posts, allegations they deny.

Zuma is also facing a lawsuit by the two main opposition parties claiming that he violated the constitution when he failed to obey a ruling by Madonsela that he repay some of the state funds spent on upgrading his private home in the village of Nkandla.

“The Gupta issue and the Nkandla issue: politically, these have been key criticisms of the Jacob Zuma presidency, key examples that have constantly been raised to indicate a kind of patronage and carelessness with power and money”, the opposition’s Maimane added.

ANC Secretary-General Gwede Mantashe said on Sunday that he would compile a report on the Guptas and urged party members to provide information about their alleged role in trying to influence government policies.

Mantashe said that party officials would meet Tuesday with 3 pro-ANC groups – the Oliver and Adelaide Tambo Foundation; the Nelson Mandela Foundation and the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, that wrote a joint letter last week expressing deep “concern about the current course on which our country is headed.”