South African President Jacob Zuma on Wednesday dumped finance minister Nhlanhla Nene, seen as a stumbling block to some of his pet projects, as the country faces growing economic turmoil.
The local currency, the rand, fell sharply to 15.24 to the dollar shortly after the announcement, extending a series of losses this year.
Zuma said he would appoint ruling ANC parliamentary backbencher David Van Rooyen as the new finance minister.
Nene’s departure was actually predicted earlier Wednesday(December 9th) by Business Day, which pointed out that the Treasury under Nene had “dragged its feet” in providing funds for a massive nuclear power deal which critics say could bankrupt the country.
Nene had also clashed recently with Zuma acolyte Dudu Myeni, the board chairman of the ailing national airline South African Airways, which relies on government bailouts to keep flying.
Zuma said Nene’s new post “will be announced in due course”.
The announcement of the change at the top of the finance ministry comes as ratings agencies rank government debt barely above junk status, with unemployment at more than 25 percent and South Africa narrowly escaping recession with 0.7 percent growth in the third quarter.
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