South African President Zuma shakes up cabinet again

“I wouldn’t expect to see much of an extension of the rebound beyond today’s move”, UBS strategist Manik Narain said. The markets responded well to a familiar face. “The push-back by the market, part of the ANC and citizens forced this backtracking by Zuma”, said Friedman.

At the time of going to press, the newly appoined Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan had a press conference, where he said on the national television that; fiscal prudence shall not be compromised and good governance is non negotiable.

Fitch downgraded the long-term foreign and local currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) of FirstRand Bank Limited (FirstRand), Nedbank Limited (Nedbank) and The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited (SBSA) and the respective rated holding companies of the last two banks.

“No amount of explanation can save the ANC from the embarrassment and the joke they have put the entire country through”.

The BBC reported that the reason behind the removal of Nene could have been his reluctance to approve a plan to build several nuclear power stations, at a cost of up to $100 billion.

“The dire fiscal position, coupled with high inflation and a fragile balance of payments position, all point to a further depreciation of the rand against the dollar in 2016/17”, David Rees, senior market economist at Capital Economics, wrote in a note.

Pravin Gordhan said he’s ready for the challenge, BusinessDayLive reported.

The selection of van Rooyen, an ANC lawmaker who has no experience in finance and was an unknown political figure nationally, led to a sudden drop in the rand, South Africa’s currency, and added to doubts among investors and credit-rating agencies about the soundness of South Africa’s financial management.

By 0716 GMT, the rand had strengthened 4.53 per cent against the dollar to 15.1700, recouping some losses suffered last week. Yes we were. Were we consulted about the appointment of Des Van Rooyen? While Mr. Nene is widely respected, Mr. van Rooyen was a relatively obscure backbencher. The rand plummeted to record lows.

The slump in commodities has hit South Africa hard.

Some National Executive Committee members had called for an emergency meeting. The party recalled Mbeki before his term ended, and he agreed to step down. “I represent the new scenario”, he said. Gordhan’s reinstatement was as a result “the importance of listening to the people”, South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma said.

Pravin Gordhan, who was rushed into the position on Sunday night, is an old hand whose appointment went some way to calming anxious investors after days of confusion.

The Democratic Alliance also lashed out at Zuma.

He also vowed that South Africa “will not cut pro-poor programmes”. “We will seek to increase investment by the 2017 budget”. “He is a known entity, is his own man and did well when in the post previously”.

Opposition leaders called for a vote of no confidence in the president when parliament returns in January.