Acid test for 'outsider' Malusi Gigaba
Years as public enterprises minister have dented his image
Challenging days lie ahead for Malusi Gigaba - the country's fourth finance minister in just more than a year - and his deputy Sfiso Buthelezi. Their greatest test will be to convince markets that their appointments are not just part of the long-running factional battles in the governing party. "He's coming in with a very tarnished image and he is filling very big boots," said Wits economist Lumkile Mondi. Gigaba and Buthelezi are unknown to financial markets. The pair and Des van Rooyen - during his brief stint as finance minister - represent a break from the tradition of appointing Treasury insiders. Predecessors Gordhan and Jonas and Treasury director-general Lungisa Fuzile have years of experience in the system. Their surprise appointments in Thursday's cabinet reshuffle cost the country dearly as the rand depreciated sharply against the dollar and other major currencies, the value of bank equities plunged and traders mostly spurned a government bond issue on Friday. In his new ...
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