The rand stabilised at much stronger levels on Thursday morning, after Jacob Zuma bowed to pressure to resign as president, clearing the decks for his deputy, Cyril Ramaphosa, to take over the reins.The rand gained up to 2.5% to the dollar, touching levels last seen in early 2015, signalling market approval of the Zuma departure, although part of the buoyancy came from a much weaker dollar."It marks the end of a period of political and policy uncertainty in which SA sacrificed considerable potential growth," said Raymond Parsons‚ an economist at the North-West University School of Business and Governance."State capture and widespread corruption have sapped SA’s economic performance."Zuma’s tenure has also eroded support for his own party, as shown in the 2016 local municipal elections, where it lost at least three metros.With Zuma gone, the onus is now on Ramaphosa to rebuild the image of the party ahead of the 2019 elections.Ramaphosa has also has his work cut out for him in terms ...
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