Pressure on Zuma after finance ministry sackings spook markets
JACOB ZUMA faces calls to step down as South Africa’s president after sacking two finance ministers in five days, wiping billions off stocks and raising fears of his country’s debt being downgraded.
Senior members of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) have demanded his resignation.
Nhlanhla Nene, a respected figure, was sacked as finance minister last Wednesday and replaced by the littleknown David van Rooyen. The rand immediately fell 5 per cent against the dollar and share prices plunged.
Following a meeting between the chief executives of South Africa’s largest banks and the ANC leadership, Mr Zuma abruptly removed Mr van Rooyen and appointed Pravin Gordhan-yesterday. Mr Gordhan previously served as finance minister from 2009 to 2014. The turmoil comes at an acutely sensitive time.
A week ago, Fitch, the ratings agency, cut its assessment of South African government debt to one notch above junk status, raising the threat of the country having to pay prohibitive interest rates. While Mr Gordhan’s ap- pointment prompted a 5 per cent surge in the value of the rand against the dollar, it also amplified demands for the president to go.
Opposition leaders have called for a vote of no confidence when parliament returns in January. Julius Malema, a former Zuma cheerleader who now runs his own party, said: “If anyone still does not think we are in a banana republic, they cannot be helped.”
Barbara Hogan, an ANC veteran, said the party should consider “recalling” – or sacking – him. Ben Turok, an antiapartheid campaigner who stood trial for treason with Nelson Mandela, said: “Mr Zuma must think about his position very seriously.”
Some ANC figures who normally support Mr Zuma, including Gwede Mantashe, the secretary general of the party, remained silent.
“This is the beginning of the end of Zuma politics, the practice of placing the interests of a small clique of greedy backers ahead of those of the party and the nation,” wrote Ray Hartley, the editor of the Rand Daily Mail. “Zuma has lost his political aura and now the vultures will circle ever more tightly.”