Dust settles on finance minister drama
As the dust settled on the merry-go-round at South Africa’s finance ministry on Tuesday morning the consensus in the business world seemed to be that President Jacob Zuma’s forced climb down was welcome
But it doesn't seem to have been enough to immediately repair damage done by the surprise dismissal of respected Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene last Wednesday and his replacement with little-known David Douglas van Rooyen.
After sending the markets into shock and the rand into freefall, the move was reversed on Sunday evening with the equally surprising decision to restore former finance minister, Pravin Gordhan, to the post.
Barclays Africa’s Peter Worthington gave the latest development a cautious welcome: “Not only is Mr Gordhan likely to stick with the existing fiscal programme, but President Zuma’s increasingly capricious leadership has been for the first time successfully challenged by the governing African National Congress and business leaders.”
He added a slightly hopeful note, saying that the appointment of Gordhan and assurances that the government remained committed to fiscal consolidation “opened the door” for the rand and SA government bonds to recoup last week’s dramatic losses before year end.