ECONOMIC CHALLENGES
JOHN DLUDLU: Manuel did not have a boss like Gigaba’s
Unlike Trevor Manuel, Malusi Gigaba has a boss whose lack of interest in the economy is a more serious threat to our recovery than any of his other well-known flaws
Three months is too short a period to judge anyone’s success or failure. But it might suffice as a barometer of impact for Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba. I’m getting nervous about his prospects of succeeding in stopping our rapid descent into junk status.
Gigaba’s ascent to the top job at the Treasury is reminiscent of Trevor Manuel’s appointment to the ministry in the 1990s.
Manuel, who went on to become postapartheid SA’s longest-serving finance minister, was appointed by Nelson Mandela after the emergency exit of two ministers to the portfolio, first Derek Keys and then Chris Liebenberg, white noncareer politicians appointed to allay investor fears. Emerging from years of global isolation, the economy was fragile and the government of national unity was facing challenges. The ANC, which had just assumed political power, was preparing its own leadership succession.Mandela was due to step down as ANC leader. The markets, which had just been rattled by Manuel’s amorphous markets comment in an unguarded moment, were desperately looking for direction. This would come later in the form of the growth, employment and redistribution (Gear) plan. Gear assuaged the markets, but deeply divided the ANC-led alliance. The jury is still out whether Gear was fully implemented and whether the stability that ensued, resulting in higher GDP growth rates, was attributable...
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