To animate his otherwise grim mini-budget on Wednesday, Malusi Gigaba wove in the motif of a harvest and the idea of reinvention, derived from the writings of the poet Ben Okri.
Considering the figures he presented reflecting the calamitous state of the economy, the harvest theme was misplaced. There is nothing to yield - apart from the derivatives of ruinous political leadership.
The line "You can't remake the world without remaking yourself" appeared to strike a note with Gigaba.
Perhaps this was appropriate, considering his reinvention as "Pravin Gordhan Lite".
"We must find the wisdom, the humility and the perspective to ask: 'How must we remake ourselves in order to build the South Africa we want?'" Gigaba said.
Being at the helm of the National Treasury has forced him to confront truths about the consequences of unnecessary political instability, rampant corruption, the abuse of state-owned enterprises as vehicles for enrichment, and wasting taxpayers' money.
Ahead of the mini-budget on Wednesday, Gigaba was palpably weighed down by the message he was about to deliver.
He said a cabinet meeting he had just left had been "supportive", but there later appeared to be crossed wires with Energy Minister David Mahlobo regarding the government's approach to the nuclear programme.
President Jacob Zuma was also "supportive" of Gordhan's February budget speech, then fired him a month later.
Gigaba said the mini-budget was deliberately candid about the state of the economy "to put the facts as they are".
The essence of his message was similar to what Gordhan had been saying about fiscal consolidation, cutting waste and the need for a new vision to tackle the country's problems.
Gordhan Lite was different from the person who had great ambitions for radical economic transformation six months before.
Gigaba was obviously appointed with a mandate from his political masters, or else the trauma to the economy in the removal of Gordhan and his deputy, Mcebisi Jonas, was pointless.
From his statements on Wednesday, Gigaba now understands why he cannot expose the country to further risk and bankruptcy.
So how much political support does he enjoy now, and how long can he last in his job?
Gigaba has a dilemma.
When he was minister of public enterprises, he became a key player in the state capture machinery, systematically reconfiguring the boards of SOEs and manipulating procurement procedures to benefit the Gupta empire.
Any credible investigation into state capture, whether a judicial commission of inquiry or a criminal investigation, will pinpoint Gigaba as "Mr State Capture", as the reports by the South African Council of Churches and a group of academics have already done.
This also means that if anyone other than Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma wins the ANC leadership race, they will be compelled to remove Gigaba from the finance ministry, or face a struggle to convince voters in 2019 that they were serious about dismantling the capture network.
Gigaba might also struggle to survive if Dlamini-Zuma wins and Zuma remains in the Union Buildings, or makes way for her.
If Gigaba is suddenly squeamish about blowing state funds, what purpose does he serve for the looting clique?
There might be only one option for Gigaba to save himself: to come clean.
He has seen the results of the mass plunder of SOEs, which he aided, and looked genuinely worried on Wednesday about the consequences for the country.
But he might not yet realise the consequences for himself.
If he did receive compensation for what he did on behalf of the Guptas, these transactions will be discovered no matter how well hidden he thinks they are.
SAS Zupta has sprung a number of leaks and that ship is on its way down.
So apart from the prospect of losing his job, Gigaba would have to explain the allegations stacked against him before a judicial commission or a court of law. Or both.
But if Gigaba owns up and becomes a state witness, he might avoid conviction.
He must realise that part of the reason his speech bombed on Wednesday is that people do not trust him. Despite all his denials, there is a credibility deficit, and his complicity in state capture cannot be shaken off.
So Gigaba must decide if he will go down with the SAS Zupta or save himself.
If he really wants to take up Okri's challenge to "remake" himself, he needs to tell the country the inside story of how he came to be "Mr State Capture".
Gigaba is young enough to swim through the stormy waters and recover down the line.
Just as he was brutally frank about South Africa's economic crisis, he must tell the truth about how the country was robbed.
