New South African Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s heavyweight status within the ruling party could help to build alliances for the fiscal policies championed by the National Treasury, according to Fitch Ratings analyst Jan Friederich. Godongwana, a former labor unionist and close political ally of President Cyril Ramaphosa, was named finance chief in a cabinet shakeup late Thursday after Tito Mboweni resigned. He is the ruling African National Congress’s head of economic policy and a former deputy minister of public enterprises and of economic development. The rand slumped as much as 2.5% against the dollar in the seconds after Ramaphosa announced Mboweni’s resignation on Thursday but pared most of the loss on Godongwana’s appointment. Mboweni was popular among investors for his strong stance on reining in government spending, cutting public-sector wages and support for loss-making state-owned companies, and selling some state assets. The change is unlikely to have an immediate impact on fiscal plans, Friederich, Fitch’s head of Middle East and Africa sovereign ratings, said Friday in an emailed response to questions. “Enoch Godongwana clearly understands the risks from the rise in government debt and is also unlikely to do anything that would jeopardize the credibility of the South African Reserve Bank.”
SOURCE: BLOOMBERG
More Stories
At the Coalface of the Green Revolution, but Earning Crumbs
Harris Stresses that U.S. Interests in African Nations Extends beyond Competing with China
Lesotho’s Lawmakers Debated a Motion to Claim Huge Swathes of Territory from South Africa
New HRW Head Weighs in on the UK’s Plan to Deport Asylum Seekers to Kigali
South Africans Spent at least 9.5 Hours a Day Online in 2022
Togo Could Move the Needle on Tropical Diseases
Making It Easier for Everyday Africans to Take Advantage of Previously Restricted Asset Classes
Pirates Disrupt the Gulf of Guinea’s Usually Peaceful Waters
Chad’s Parliament has Approved a Bill to Nationalise Oil Assets
Unilever Nigeria Announces Exit of Home Care and Skin Cleansing Markets by End of the Year
Joshua Baraka is Ugandan Music’s Next Big Thing
Design for Human Rights