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| South African President, Jacob Zuma |
South African
President Jacob Zuma has replaced newly appointed Finance Minister David van
Rooyen with the more experienced Pravin Gordhan in a surprise Sunday night
announcement.
Last Wednesday,
the president sacked Nhlanhla Nene in a move that sent the rand to record lows
and sparked a sell-off in bank shares.
The latest move
sent the rand up almost 5% on Sunday night.
Mr Gordhan was
widely respected when he served as South Africa's finance minister from 2009
until 2014.
However,
Mohammed Nalla, head of research at Nedbank Capital, said having a finance
minister serve just two days did not bode well for South Africa's reputation.
"I have
received many representations to reconsider my decision. 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.
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| Pravin Gordhan |
"I have
appointed Pravin Gordhan, the current Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional
Affairs as the new Minister of Finance. Minister Gordhan will return to a
portfolio that he had held proficiently during the fourth administration."
Van Rooyen who
replaced Nhlanhla Nene will be transferred to the Cogta. He was appointed on
Wednesday and sworn in on Thursday amid mixed reactions from the country. The
move also saw the rand plummeting to its lowest mark in years.
"I have
also decided to appoint the current Minister of Finance David van Rooyen as the
new Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs.
"Mr Van
Rooyen, a former executive mayor, will also be bringing to Cogta the finance
and economic sector background gained in serving in the Finance Portfolio
Committee and Economic Transformation Cluster as whip in National Assembly.
"He has
been mandated to take forward the Back to Basics programme and further improve
cooperation between the three spheres of government,” said the statement.
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