Change of president won’t change economic progress, Godongwana says

SA’s macroeconomic reforms, aimed at unlocking  administrative and other operational bottlenecks in areas such as energy, telecommunications, transport, water and tourism in order to spur growth, are not at risk if President Cyril Ramaphosa vacates his office as the president of the country and the ANC, according to finance minister Enoch Godongwana.

The finance minister, who was appointed by Ramaphosa in August 2021 as former minister Tito Mboweni’s replacement, says he has been fielding  queries from stakeholders in the market place questioning policy certainty if the president resigns.

“One of the key questions is not about whether he leaves, it’s about the credibility of the person who is going to replace him,” Godongwana  told Business Day.

“These reforms [he is] championing as president remain reforms carried out by this government. I would imagine that if a new president comes they will carry on with those reforms because they are not serving personal interests; they are about removing bottlenecks to the economy.”

Markets in SA were sent into a tailspin this week after the release of parliament’s report into the theft at Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala game farm. It found that he may have a case to answer for in relation to obscuring details about the millions of rand that was stashed in his sofa.

Ramaphosa had considered resigning by Thursday. The scandal has plunged the presidency into crisis, with his allies in the ANC national executive committee (NEC) — including Godongwana, minister in the presidency Mondli Gungubele and mineral resources & energy minister Gwede Mantashe — persuading him to reconsider his planned resignation and to take the section 89 report on legal review.

Business Day previously reported that Ramaphosa intends not to resign and he intends to contest his presidency at the ANC’s conference in two weeks’ time. 

“The ANC sets up policy and the president operates within that policy framework so any change of president does not impact on that policy,” Godongwana said. “Markets should understand that we are chaotic, it’s our nature.”

He added that when former president Thabo Mbeki was fired similar fears existed but the economic variables remained consistent. “We fired [Jacob] Zuma in 2018 ... but it does not have a huge impact on the economy,” he said.

On Tuesday the National Assembly is expected to vote on whether the president should be subjected to an impeachment inquiry, with the majority of opposition parties represented in parliament vowing to support the impeachment. 

The ANC is expected to rally around the president in parliament, arguing that because he is taking the report on review, parliament cannot adopt it until the legal process has been finalised. 

The ANC’s national working committee (NWC), which is responsible for handling the party’s daily matters, is set to meet on Sunday to deliberate on the Phala Phala report. The recommendations of the NWC are then expected to be presented to the NEC on Monday.

maekot@businesslive.co.za