President Jacob Zuma named David Van Rooyen as Nene’s successor, saying in an emailed statement that Nene had “done well since his appointment as minister of finance during a hard economic climate” and will be moved to another key role.
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South Africa removed Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene and replaced him with a little-known lawmaker, sparking a sell-off in the currency.
I wish Mr Van Rooyen all the best in this new appointment.
Van Rooyen was described by newspaper Business Day as “a malleable member of parliament’s finance committee”.
Van Rooyen has held various leadership positions, including Executive Mayor of Merafong Municipality and Provincial Chairperson of the South African Local Government Association.
Analysts said the axing of Mr. Nene was linked to the finance ministry’s resistance to Mr. Zuma’s plans for a hugely expensive nuclear-energy deal, and its challenging of questionable deals at the state-owned airline, SAA, which is losing so much money that it is considered insolvent.
Nene’s ministerial fortunes follow those of his predecessor, Pravin Gordhan, who was also shifted from the finance portfolio after he tried to get senior civil servants to curb their spending. By 21:20 on Wednesday night, the rand was trading at R16.34 to the euro down 2.74% and R22.5 against the pound down 2.5%. “There is also a threat that further ratings downgrades may well lead to South Africa’s exclusion from global government bond indices in the next one to two years”.
Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane said that removing Nene is a reckless and risky move.
“I know nothing about the new man”, George Herman, head of South African investments at Cape Town-based Citadel Investment Services, said by phone.
“Accompanied by no reasons for such a drastic move, one can only conclude that tonight’s action is yet another example of how President Zuma puts himself first and the country second”.
“This is the shortest reign of a finance minister and will create further doubts about cohesiveness of South Africa’s economic policy”.
It is still unclear why President Zuma made the sudden decision.
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In his brief announcement at about 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Mr. Zuma gave no official clue for the sacking of his finance minister. A decision to change a person that presides over the treasury of the country must come with substance, be predictable and not come as a shock.
