Shock after Pres. Zuma axes Nhlanhla Nene

The business community was still reeling from the country’s credit being downgraded to just one step above junk less than a week ago.

Nene was widely seen as a steady hand on the tiller; few early commentators expect much from his replacement, ANC MP David van Rooyen, whose early claim to be fame being that he had none.

Some analysts said Nene’s deputy, Mcibisi Jonas, would have been as a more obvious successor

“I have decided to remove Mr Nhlanhla Nene as Minister of Finance, ahead of his deployment to another strategic position,” Zuma said in a statement late on Wednesday.

The President gave no reason for the reshuffle, leaving the financial community to draw its own conclusions.

There were widespread cries of “the beginning of the end”, with the Rand Daily Mail saying Zuma’s capture of the state was now complete, the Treasury having been “the last obstacle in the way of untrammelled spending by Zuma’s inner circle”.

The two most common ideas circulating as possible reasons for Nene’s demise were his lack of support for Dudu Myeni, chairperson of the crisis-stricken South African Airways, who is known to be very close to Zuma, as well as for what has been called Zuma’s ‘pet project’, the nuclear build programme.

The Democratic Alliance reacted on Wednesday evening, with leader Mmusi Maimane saying the removal of Nene was “irrational” and a “reckless and dangerous move that further damages our country’s economy”.

Barclays Africa chief executive Maria Ramos described Nene as having done an “extraordinary job in the most difficult of circumstances”.

“In the current challenging economic environment, the decision to change a successful minister of finance is difficult to understand,” she said.

There were suggestions early on Thursday that Nene may be headed to the New Development Bank, the multilateral development bank operated by the BRICS nations.