South Africa’s finance minister fired

South African President Jacob Zuma removed Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene from his position on Wednesday, sending the currency to a record low as markets responded to the shock axing.

In a statement, Zuma said, “I have made a decision to remove Mr. Nhlanhla Nene as Minister of Finance, ahead of his deployment to another strategic position…Mr. Nene has done well since his appointment as Minister of Finance during a hard economic climate”.

“Tonight’s announcement by President Zuma that he has fired Nene is a reckless and risky move that further damages the economy, said opposition Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane on his official twitter feed”.

A former mayor of Merafong in Carletonville on the West Rand, Van Rooyen is not known for being anything but subservient to the party’s leadership. “Mr. Nene enjoys a lot of respect in the sector locally and overseas, having also served as a Deputy Minister of Finance previously”.

The rand USDZAR, +2.3746% traded as low as 15.40 to the dollar, a more than 4% drop from 14.60 a day earlier, according to FactSet data.

The rand was down 1.39% against the greenback at R14.83/$.

“Out of the blue, comes this announcement of Nene which will make the jittery market even more dubious about South Africa’s prospects of shifting economic gears and holding spending”, said COPE spokesperson Dennis Bloem.

South Africa is a major producer of metals including platinum and gold.

Nene was sacked at a time the country was facing economic headwinds. He hoped that the new minister would be able to restore investor confidence.

Maimane said Nene tried to reign in excessive government spending, which caused a block when it came to the nuclear procurement deal and SAA spending.

The Economic Freedom Fighters’ Floyd Shivambu also tweeted on Nene firing.

The party criticised Zuma’s decision and asked for the reasons behind it.

Nene in recent months faced added political pressure in the form of a perceived stand-off with the chairwoman of embattled national carrier South African Airways Dudu Myeni – who is seen as being close to Zuma – as she sought to renegotiate a sensitive leasing contract with Airbus.

“Above all, Nhlanhla Nene was reluctant to approve the country’s new nuclear deal which Zuma wanted expedited so he can benefit before his term as president ends”.

The Treasury and the Presidency were not immediately available for comment.