President Zuma replaces newly appointed Finance Minister

“I think it’s a very good decision on the part of the president to reappoint “PG” as minister of finance”, said Mboweni over the phone.

President Jacob Zuma’s announcement that Pravin Gordhan has been appointed finance minister and David Van Rooyen Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister, days after he took the job at Treasury, was met with disbelief on Sunday.

In a statement yesterday, the president said that after replacing Nene he had “received many representations to reconsider my decision”.

The removal of Mr Nene, who was keen to rein in government spending in Africa’s most industrialised economy, sent the rand currency to record lows, sparked a sell-off in bank stocks and sent yields in both local and U.S. dollar-denominated debt soaring.

The South African president’s decision to fire the finance minister last week saw widespread criticism.

Be proactive – Use the “Flag as Inappropriate” link at the upper right corner of each comment to let us know of abusive posts.

Van Rooyen had been sworn in as finance minister on Thursday afternoon. “South Africa can not continue to be led by a flip-flopping President who has complete disregard for the well-being of the country and its citizens”.

Zuma late on Sunday restored a widely respected Gordhan to the ministry in a dramatic U-turn that gave Africa’s most advanced economy its third finance minister in a week.

Bantu Holomisa, leader of the United Democratic Movement, said the president had “lost control” and the ANC “should recall Zuma immediately”. “Unfortunately, it is the poor and unemployed who will bear the brunt of what the president has done”.

“How much longer can South Africa afford Zuma to hold office?”

“The EFF calls for the immediate resignation of Zuma before he plunges the country into a deeper crisis”, the party said in a statement. “I think all of us at time-to-time are faced with situations where we have to change our minds”, said Mboweni on Zuma’s decision.

His replacement for less than a week, Mr van Rooyen, is a little-known MP. “As a democratic government, we emphasise the importance of listening to the people and to respond to their views”, the Presidency said in a statement.

The minister had rebuked Dudu Myeni, the airline’s chairwoman and a close ally of Mr Zuma, for mismanaging a 1 billion rand deal with Airbus.

He is widely respected by investors and members of the financial sector.

Social media was abuzz on Sunday with calls for anti-Zuma marches.