You might have been thinking that the South African economy was in the pits, but were still holding thumbs for a slow recovery. Multiple elements have been forcing the Rand to decrease radically this year so one would hope – still holding those thumbs – that Zuma wouldn’t do what Zuma does best: act on a whim.

Yesterday, a cabinet reshuffle took place and the Holy Grail of the country, the Minister of Finance, was culled. For no good reason. In true JZ style, he did what he wanted to do without thinking of anyone other than himself.

Replacing Nhlanhla Nene as the Minister of Finance is David Douglas Des van Rooyen. But we will get to him later. In the mean time, let’s get to the reason why:

Nene had only served as Minister of Finance since May 2014 and

had followed his predecessors Trevor Manuel and Pravin Gordhan in sticking to a trajectory of fiscal discipline to maintain macroeconomic stability.

However, Nene did not get the memo: Zuma wouldn’t want a Minister of Finance to:

Maintain the integrity of the Treasury, cut government spending in the face of a bulging deficit and balance the books to allow for development and growth

He was even trying to keep the R1-trillion nuclear deal above board. Tut tut.

But the ultimate move that cost poor Nene his job was crossing the SAA board chairperson Dudu Myeni who – obviously – has a close relationship with ol’ JZ.

Nene refused to agree to Myeni’s plan to revise a deal for the purchase of new aircraft for the national carrier because of high costs. Myeni was furious, Zuma was displeased but Nene refused to bow to political pressure. If he had done so, it would have undermined Treasury’s adherence to fiscal discipline and betrayed the undertakings he had made to the nation for financial prudence by the state.

The treasury even released a statement on the matter:

The board’s proposal to restructure the deal would leave the SAA in a materially “worse off financial position where it is unable to meet commitments as they become due”.

Here’s the fickle Presidential statement released after the decision was made:

I would like to announce changes to the Finance portfolio in Cabinet.

I have decided to remove Mr Nhlanhla Nene as Minister of Finance, ahead of his deployment to another strategic position. Mr Nene has done well since his appointment as Minister of Finance during a difficult economic climate.

It’s not as if Nene is the first minister to have an issue with Myeni. Former Minister Malusi Gigaba was moved from the Public Enterprise Portfolio to Home Affairs after

he fought with Nene and SAA was taken away from the current minister Lynne Brown to the treasury after Brown fought with Myeni.”

Of course, the DA’s Mmusi Maimane had his two cents to add:

Nene fought for the fiscal discipline. The implication of this on the economy is that South Africa is now seen [by investors] as unstable. Former Minister Trevor Manuel served for two terms. For Zuma to fire Nene after a just over a year is a clear indication of instability within his administration. This will have huge implications on job creation. It is very irresponsible.

He [Zuma] needs someone who can tore the line at the expense of South Africans. He believes he comes first before the people of South Africa. Even the ANC in this case is becoming second.

The ANC was in full support of the President, even though they were surprised and it’s clear that the move was made in favour only of Zuma:

The President has exercised his Constitutional prerogative to appoint a new Minister who we believe has what it takes to lead the Ministry.

We believe his experience and tenure as the ANC National Assembly Whip for both Finance Portfolio Committee and ANC Caucus’ Economic Transformation Cluster will enable him to provide the necessary leadership in the department. We wish the new Minister well in his responsibilities. The former Minister remains a valuable resource in the organisation and we accordingly commend him for the excellent service he rendered to the department and the people of South Africa,

So who is this Des van Rooyen man who has become our new Minister of Finance? Although he has many qualifications and has held a leadership position in the ANC since 1994, one unimpressed Peter Attard Montalto, emerging markets economist at Nomura International, said about him:

Van Rooyen is a member of the portfolio standing committee on Finance in Parliament. He has been a member of the committee since 2011 and so, while aware of fiscal and National Treasury issues, he has no central government experience, and no provincial government experience.

From what we have seen he has not been particularly vocal or independent from the ANC while on the committee or in the ANC.

Oh, and his personal interests include soccer, golf, tennis, reading and hunting. Cute.

If anything comes out of this, it’s that Zuma, who has made six reshuffles of the cabinet since 2009 and has had no solid reason for any of them, is sending a message and there will without a doubt be no acts of defiance from his cabinet ministers ever again.

[source: thedailymail&mg&timeslive]