Attracting investment into South Africa’s capital Pretoria had proven difficult under the current spell of policy uncertainty, Tshwane Mayor Solly Msimanga said on Wednesday.

Speaking at a Democratic Alliance (DA) protest outside the National Treasury in Pretoria against the “capture” of the critical State institution, Msimanga said: “We are trying by all means to attract investors into Tshwane but we are finding it very difficult with so much uncertainty in terms of the positions that we are taking going forward. Investors like certainty and at the moment South Africa is not giving any kind of certainty.

“I’m trying to make sure that the people of Tshwane get jobs. I’m trying to make sure that we are able to attract investment into the capital city. Therefore, until such a time when we have a good stance and solid policy positions, we will never be able to attract investment into the capital.”

Msimanga said the discourse gripping the governing African National Congress (ANC) on whether South Africa was under the spell of “white monopoly capital” or just “monopoly capital” was a sideshow.

“Make up your minds, we need to move South Africa forward. You are not doing us any favour, you are actually doing us a disservice with all this dilly dallying you are doing,” he told a crowd of several hundred DA supporters.

Msimanga said Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba needed to come clean on the numerous allegations linking him to the controversial Gupta family who are at the centre of State capture allegations.

“What has been coming out of the emails [leaked private emails of Gupta associates], and what has been coming out of his department points in the direction that he might be captured. I hope that is not the case. The only way he can prove that he is not captured is by coming out and say ‘enough is enough, I’m not going to let the Reserve Bank be captured’. He can go to Parliament and make some pronouncements.”

DA leader Mmusi Maimane was leading the protest on Wednesday and was accompanied by DA Gauteng leader John Moodey and Msimanga.

“For the past three years, (President Jacob) Zuma and his corrupt friends have desperately sought after the keys to the National Treasury, and to our country’s R1.4-trillion national budget. With the appointment of Gupta-puppet, Malusi Gigaba, the corrupt and the connected now have full access to the people’s money. We must stop the looting and stealing of South Africa’s resources by those who belong in jail, not in government jobs,” the DA said in a statement earlier.

Several security guards were manning the closed entrance of the National Treasury on Church Square. Numerous police officers were also on the scene.