Enoch Godongwana’s smooth debut
The new finance minister hit all the right notes with investors, though he didn’t shoot out the lights either
Enoch Godongwana can be pleased with his first formal introduction to the markets as SA’s new finance minister. Granted, it was a brief, stage-managed event — he spent less than 30 minutes on a call to investors fielding a few obvious questions chosen by his hosts, HSBC and Standard Bank.Even so, he managed to hit all the right notes. And the markets liked it.Perhaps just as important as his words is the fact that Godongwana engaged with the investment community only a week after being appointed, when he could have waited a month or more to settle in — a brave move for any new minister.In taking the initiative, he obliged the wishes of Business Leadership SA CEO Busi Mavuso. She had urged Godongwana to "move quickly" to signal his commitment to pursuing fiscal discipline and the structural reforms necessary to boost growth, in line with the stance of his predecessor, Tito Mboweni.Godongwana did exactly this, saying nothing is really going to change in terms of SA’s fiscal stance and...
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