TRANSFORMATION AGENDA
CAROL PATON: By playing two sides, Malusi Gigaba takes a gamble on the economy’s strength
Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba may have dumped the language of radical economic transformation but he has beefed up its content. At a news conference on Thursday, Gigaba spent two hours expounding his rescue plan for the economy and responding to corruption allegations made against him due to his closeness to the notorious Gupta family. But to those who watched closely, Gigaba did a third thing: he put his transformation agenda squarely on the table and stressed that his mission was both growth and transformation. Content to ignore the cloud above his head for now, markets and investors eagerly tuned in, craving a signal that Gigaba will be the kind of finance minister they hope to see. So far, he has been doing quite well: his appointment of a director-general met with their approval; his constant reiteration of a commitment to the government’s fiscal targets is reassuring; and the restatement of the Treasury’s desire to bring about structural reforms of the economy have all been v...
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